..,jt.jmii mil    MWiMiii   iiiiiiiiii-i      r      — 


THE   WORK 

OF    XHE 

SUNDAV  SGHOOL 


RAY  CLARKSON  MARKER 


MAY  1  1.918 


BV  1520  .H28  1911 
Harker,  Ray  Clarkson. 
The  work  of  the  Sunday- 
school 


The  Work  of  the 
Sunday-School 

A  Manual  for  Teachers    ^^^^^^^o] 

AY    1    19] 

By/ 
RAY  CLARKSON  HARKER,  D.  D. 


New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming  H.   Revell   Company 

London  and  Edinburgh 


Copyright,  191 1,  by 
FLEMING  H.    REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  123  North  Wabash  Ave. 
Toronto:  25  Richmond  Street,  W. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:      100    Princes    Street 


To 
that  splendid  volunteer  ariny  of  Sunday- 
school  workers  who  so  patiently  and  per- 
sistently pray  and  work  for  the  coming  of 
Christ^ s  kingdotn  in  the  earth  this  volnme 
is  appreciatingly  dedicated. 


Preface 

No  apology  is  needed  for  sending" 
forth  another  book  concerning  the 
work  of  that  institution  which  is  re- 
ceiving the  increasing  attention  of  the  Chris- 
tian world,  and  which  is  doing  so  much  for 
the  establishment  of  Christ's  kingdom  in  the 
earth. 

This  little  volume  is  an  attempt  to  give 
hint,  at  least,  as  to  where  strategic  work  may 
be  done  for  the  ushering  in  of  our  Lord's 
kingdom.  Most  of  the  chapters  deal  with 
the  prime  factors  and  forces  which  have  com- 
manding place  in  shaping  the  destiny  of  the 
Church.  This  book  does  not  pretend  to 
touch  even  a  majority  of  the  important 
themes  relative  to  the  Sunday-school.  It 
treats  a  few  of  the  supremely  significant 
factors. 

The  preparation  of  these  chapters  has 
been  a  work  of  rare  delight  amid  the  press 
of  a  busy  pastorate.  The  work  has  been 
done  with  an  ever-deepening  conviction  that 
the  increasing  triumphs  of  the  Gospel  must 
be  won  among  the  young,  and  with  a  grow- 
7 


8  Preface 

ing  appreciation  of  the  value  of  Bible  study 
for  both  young  and  old. 

Excerpts  from  several  of  the  chapters  have 
appeared  in  the  Sunday-School  Journal  and 
in  The  Adult  Bible  Class.  By  the  courteous 
consent  of  the  editors  of  these  publications 
these  portions  are  here  reproduced. 

If  those  who  read  these  pages  are  inspired 
to  greater  appreciation  of  the  Sunday-school, 
and  are  led  to  a  deeper  consecration  of  their 
powers  to  build  the  Church  of  Christ  through 
the  Sunday-school,  the  author  will  be  amply 
rewarded. 

R.  C.  H. 

Freeport,  III. 


Contents 


The  Sunday-School  ;  Its  Origin  and  History  ; 

Its  Mission  and  Power       .  .  .  .II 

II 

The  Teacher  ;  His  Task  ;  His  EguiPMENT  ;  His 

Power  ;  and  His  Reward  .  .  .  .5' 

III 
The  Scholar  We  Teach  .         .         .         .         •       9' 

IV 
The  Book  We  Teach 121 

V 
Decision  Day  in  the  Sunday-School  .         •     J53 

VI 

How  to  Prepare  a  Sunday-School  Lesson  .     171 

VII 
Sunday-School  Installation  Service         .         .185 


I 

THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL;   ITS  ORIGIN 

AND  HISTORY  ;  ITS  MISSION  AND 

POWER 


"  An  enterprise  which  enlisted  the  active  devotion  of  Raikes, 
with  his  business  sagacity,  of  Hannah  More,  with  her  brilliant 
social  charm,  of  Charles  of  Bala,  with  his  apostolic  zeal,  of 
William  Wilberforce,  the  peer  of  William  Pitt  for  eloquence, 
and  of  John  Wesley,  the  foremost  religious  leader  of  the  cen- 
tury, was  bound  to  succeed.  Its  founders  were  not  fanatics  nor 
visionaries.  They  were  eminently  sane  and  practical,  and 
their  intellects  were  as  keen  as   their  affections  were  warm." 

—  T.  Ilarwood  Fattisoti. 

"  An  untaught  generation — untaught  in  any  form  of  the  di- 
vinely appointed  Bible-school — was  a  sure  result ;  and  the  re- 
ligious decline  of  New  England  was  inevitable." 

— H.  Clay  Trttmbitll. 

"  The  Apostolic  Church  made  the  school  the  connecting  link 
between  herself  and  the  world." — Baron  Biinsen. 

"  To  say  that  God  is  in  this  movement  is  only  to  emphasize 
the  fact  that  the  Sunday-school  is  a  part  of  His  organized 
Church  among  men.  The  growth  and  efficiency  of  the  Sunday- 
school,  especially  in  its  teaching  and  spiritual  power,  is  a  sure 
test  of  the  presence  in  the  Church  of  the  spirit  and  law  of 
Christ  towards  childhood." — Bishop  Hartzell. 

"  Nearly  all  in  the  membership  of  a  church  to-day  were  di- 
rectly or  indirectly  helped  to  decision  for  Christ  through  the 
Sunday-school.  ^Ve  shall  not  be  far  into  the  twentieth  century 
until  all  in  the  church  shall  have  been  trained  in  the  Sunday- 
school." — John  Potts. 


The  Sunday-School ;   Its  Origin  and 
History;  Its  Mission  and  Power 

OME  is  our  first  school.  This  school 
is  as  old  as  the  race.  It  has  been 
estimated  that  for  fifteen  hundred 
years  the  home  was  the  only  agency  for  the 
development  of  character.  In  the  Book  of 
Deuteronomy  ^  the  parental  responsibility  is 
plainly  indicated :  *'  And  thou  shalt  teach 
them  (the  commands  of  God)  diligently  unto 
thy  children,  and  shalt  talk  of  them  when 
thou  sittest  in  thy  house,  and  when  thou 
walkest  by  the  way,  and  when  thou  liest 
down,  and  when  thou  risest  up," 

Moses  ^  exhorts  collective  Israel  saying : 
"  Only  take  heed  to  thyself,  and  keep  thy 
soul  diligently,  lest  thou  forget  the  things 
which  thine  eyes  have  seen,  and  lest  they 
depart  from  thy  heart  all  the  days  of  thy 
life  ;  but  teach  them  thy  sons,  and  thy  sons' 
sons."  The  word  of  Paul  ^  to  Timothy,  "  that 
from  a  child  thou  hast  known  the  Holy 
Scriptures,"  hints  of  a  home  training. 

'  Deut.  vi.  7 ;  xi.  19,  20.       ^  Deut.  iv.  9.       ^  2  Tim,  iii.  15. 

»3 


14      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

Among  the  Jews  the  mother  doubtless  had 
her  part  in  the  early  development  of  the 
child,  and  "  the  father  was  bound  to  teach 
his  son."  "  There  can  be  no  question/'  says 
Edersheim,  *'  that  according  to  the  law  of 
Moses,  the  early  education  of  a  child  de- 
volved upon  the  father  ;  of  course  always 
bearing  in  mind  that  his  first  training  would 
be  the  mother's." 

We  read  in  the  New  Testament,  "  And 
they  brought  young  children  to  Christ."  It 
is  well  for  fathers  to  remember  that  the  pro- 
noun, **  they,"  in  that  verse  is  masculine,  not 
feminine,  in  the  original  Greek.  Edersheim 
says  :  "  It  was,  indeed,  no  idle  boast  that 
the  Jews  'were  from  their  swaddling-clothes 
.  .  .  trained  to  recognize  God  as  their 
Father,  and  as  the  Maker  of  the  world '  ; 
that,  '  having  been  taught  the  knowledge 
(of  the  laws)  from  earliest  youth,  they  bore 
in  their  souls  the  image  of  the  command- 
ments.' "  ^ 

The  function  of  the  home  is  not  simply  to 
care  for  the  physical  body,  but  to  train  the 
mind,  to  furnish  a  sanctuary  for  the  heart. 
If  man  can  be  defined  as :  "A  httle  lump  of 
flesh,  a  handful  of  intellectual  germs,  a  bundle 

• "  The   Life    and    Times   of   Jesus   the   Messiah,"   Vol.    I, 
p.  230. 


Origin,  History,  Mission  and  Power     15 

of  moral  roots,"  ^  then  home  must  be  a  place 
for  love  to  grow  in,  as  well  as  for  mind  and 
body.  The  Greeks  were  right  in  calling 
home,  "The  Shrine  of  the  gods."  And  of 
most  children  it  may  be  said,  "  that  if  they 
have  no  church  in  the  home  they  have  no 
home  in  the  church." 

That  little  life  in  your  home  can  be  led 
through  the  school  of  temptation  safely  to  the 
goal  of  virtue,  or  it  can  be  neglected  as  it 
passes  through  the  years  of  testing,  and  arrive 
at  the  goal  of  vice  and  shipwreck.  To  one 
of  these  it  is  sure  to  come.  In  training  the 
child  in  the  home  there  is  a  chance  to  work 
with  God. 

We  have  also  the  public  school.  It  is  one 
of  the  safeguards  of  the  nation.  Many  of 
the  truest  and  manliest  qualities  are  fostered 
and  cultivated  in  this  school.  Pupils  are 
here  taught  the  evils  of  ignorance,  the  deg- 
radation of  vice,  the  baneful  results  of  idle- 
ness. The  most  uncultured  and  unkempt 
here  learn  the  value  of  regularity,  punctual- 
ity, cleanliness,  politeness,  industry,  attention, 
and  obedience.  They  catch  a  glimpse  of  the 
hardihood  of  life,  their  latent  faculties  are  de- 
veloped, the  folly  of  their  ignorance  is  shown 
to  them,  the  wayward  are  corrected,  and  the 

'  Hillis,  "  Place  of  Christ,"  p.  5. 


l6      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

indifferent  are  brought  to  a  recognition  of 
their  responsibility.  The  public  school  is  a 
destroyer  of  caste,  it  obliterates  distinctions. 
In  it  the  son  of  the  humblest  toiler  is 
on  an  equality  with  the  son  of  the  million- 
aire. It  is  the  great  educator  of  equality, 
and  if  true  democracy  is  to  continue,  the 
public  school  must  continue.  This  guard- 
ian of  the  state  must  be  kept  pure,  be- 
cause it  is  the  centre  and  heart  of  the  na- 
tion, and  through  it  the  nation's  life-blood  is 
passing. 

But  the  institution  we  are  to  consider  is  the 
Sunday-school,  the  Bible-school. 

I.  Its  origin  ajtd history.  Biblical  scholars 
claim  that  this  school  is  twenty  centuries 
older  than  the  pulpit.  Prophets  of  the  Old 
Testament  days  were  only  occasional  spokes- 
men of  the  Lord,  and  a  stated  pulpit  ministry 
did  not  begin  until  the  days  of  John  the 
Baptist.  The  Bible-school  is  "an  agency 
which  is  the  junior  only  of  the  famil}^  and 
has  a  like  stamp  of  God's  approval  with  both 
family  and  pulpit."  ^ 

So  the  Sunday-school  idea  is  not  a  modern 
one.  Wendell  Phillips  used  to  have  a  cele- 
brated lecture  upon  "  The  Lost  Arts."  The 
modern  Sunday-school  is  the  recovery  of  a 

1  Trumbull,  "  Teaching  and  Teachers,"  p.  354. 


Origin,  History,  Mission  and  Power     17 

"  lost  art."  Dr.  Trumbull '  has  gathered  to- 
gether what  some  of  the  rabbis  tell  us  of  the 
early  Bible-school  among  the  Jews.  Here  we 
learn  "  that  Methuselah  was  a  teacher  of  the 
Mishna,  before  the  flood  ;  that,  after  the  Del- 
uge, Shem  and  Eber  had  a  House  of  In- 
struction where  the  Halacha  was  studied ; 
that  Abraham  was  a  student  of  the  Torah 
when  he  was  three  years  old,  and  that  he  was 
afterwards  under  the  teaching  of  Melchizedek 
in  matters  concerning  the  priesthood ;  that 
young  Jacob  as  a  good  boy  did  go  to  the 
Bible-school,  while  Esau  as  a  bad  boy  did 
not ;  that  among  the  pupils  of  Moses  in  his 
great  Bible-school  were  his  father-in-law 
Jethro,  and  young  Joshua,  and  that  the  latter 
was  preferred  above  the  sons  of  Moses,  as  his 
successor,  because  of  his  greater  zeal  and  fi- 
delity in  the  Bible-school  exercises  ;  that  the 
victory  of  Deborah  and  Barak  reopened  the 
schools  for  Bible  study,  which  had  been 
closed  by  the  Canaanites ;  that  Samuel  con- 
ducted Bible-schools  which  were  continued 
to  the  days  of  Elisha  and  beyond ;  that 
wicked  King  Ahaz  had  the  Bible-schools  for 
children  closed  in  order  to  exterminate  the 
religion  of  Moses  ;  that  good  King  Hezekiah, 
on   the   other  hand,   not  only   fostered  the 

1  "  Yale  Lectures,"  p,  5. 


l8      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

Bible-school  system,  but  personally  bore  his 
own  children  to  receive  instruction  in  one  of 
these  schools." 

"  All  this,"  remarks  Dr.  Trumbull,  "  is 
mere  fanciful  tradition,  it  is  true ;  but  even 
as  tradition  it  has  an  interest  through  what 
it  shows  of  the  estimation  in  which  the  Bible- 
school  was  held  by  the  rabbis,  at  the  time  of 
the  recording  of  these  steadily  gathering  tra- 
ditions concerning  its  ancient  place  and 
power." 

When  Jehoshaphat  was  on  the  throne  he 
commissioned  princes,  Levites,  and  priests  to 
teach  the  book  of  the  law  of  the  Lord  to  the 
people  throughout  all  the  cities  of  Judah. 
After  Israel  returned  from  exile  Ezra  and  his 
corps  of  teachers  instructed  the  people. 

In  the  eighth  chapter  of  Nehemiah  we  have 
a  description  of  Ezra's  school : 

"  And  all  the  people  gathered  themselves 
together  as  one  man  into  the  street  that  was 
before  the  water  gate  ;  and  they  spake  unto 
Ezra  the  scribe  to  bring  the  book  of  the  law 
of  Moses,  which  the  Lord  had  commanded  to 
Israel. 

"  And  Ezra  the  priest  brought  the  law  be- 
fore the  congregation  both  of  men  and  women, 
and  all  that  could  hear  with  understanding, 
upon  the  first  day  of  the  seventh  month. 


Origin,  History,  Mission  and  Power     19 

"  And  he  read  therein  before  the  street  that 
was  before  the  water  gate  from  the  morning 
until  midday,  before  the  men  and  the  women, 
and  those  that  could  understand  ;  and  the 
ears  of  all  the  people  were  attentive  unto  the 
book  of  the  law. 

"  And  Ezra  the  scribe  stood  upon  a  pulpit 
of  wood,  which  they  had  made  for  the  pur- 
pose ;  and  beside  him  stood  Mattithiah,  and 
Shema,  and  Anaiah,  and  Urijah,  and  Hilkiah, 
and  Maaseiah  on  his  right  hand  ;  and  on  his 
left  hand,  Pedaiah,and  Mishael,  and  Malchiah, 
and  Hashum,  and  Hashbadana,  Zechariah, 
and  Meshullam. 

"  And  Ezra  opened  the  book  in  the  sight 
of  all  the  people  (for  he  was  above  all  the 
people) ;  and  when  he  opened  it  all  the  peo- 
ple stood  up. 

*'  And  Ezra  blessed  the  Lord,  the  great 
God.  And  all  the  people  answered,  Amen, 
Amen,  with  lifting  up  their  hands  ;  and  they 
bowed  their  heads,  and  worshipped  the  Lord 
with  their  faces  to  the  ground. 

"Also  Joshua,  and  Bani,  and  Sherebiah, 
Jamin,  Akkub,  Shabbethai,  Hodijah,  Maa- 
seiah, Kelita,  Azariah,  Jozabad,  Hanan,  Pela- 
iah,  and  the  Levites,  caused  the  people  to 
understand  the  law  ;  and  the  people  stood  in 
their  place. 


20      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

"So  they  read  in  the  book  in  the  law  of 
God  distinctly,  and  gave  the  sense,  and  caused 
them  to  understand  the  reading-." 

Edersheim  tells  us  that  the  synagogue 
originated  during  or  in  consequence  of  the 
Captivity,  The  synagogue  schools  multi- 
plied throughout  Israel,  and  during  the  min- 
istry of  our  Lord  there  were  from  460  to  480 
synagogue  schools  in  Jerusalem  alone.  The 
schools  were  so  influential  among  the  Jews 
that  it  was  said  that  "  If  you  would  destroy 
the  Jews  you  must  destroy  the  schools," 

Jesus  was,  without  doubt,  taught  in  one  of 
the  synagogue  schools  at  Nazareth,  When 
He  began  His  public  career  He  made  use  of 
the  synagogues,  "  And  Jesus  went  about  all 
Galilee,  teachmg  in  their  synagogues  and 
preaching  the  Gospel  of  the  kingdom," 
"  The  synagogue  became  the  cradle  of  the 
Church."  ' 

It  is  well  to  note  how  teachmg  was  empha- 
sized, "  And  daily  in  the  temple,  and  in 
every  house  they  ceased  not  to  ieach,  and 
preach  Jesus  Christ,"  ^  Jesus  giving  His  com- 
mission said  :  "  Go  ye  therefore  and  teach  all 
nations  .  .  .  teachmg  them  to  observe  all 
things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you."' 

1  Edersheim,  "  Life  and  Times  of  Jesus,"  Vol.  I,  p.  431. 
*  Acts  V.  42.  '  Matt,  xxviii,  19,  20. 


Origin,  History,  Mission  and  Power     21 

The  fact  that  in  three  hundred  years  from 
the  death  of  John  Christianity  spread  all 
over  the  civihzed  world  is  attributed  to  the 
system  of  teaching.  Prof.  George  W.  Rich- 
ards says  :  "  The  Middle  Ages  became  dark 
ages  when  the  schools  of  the  Church  de- 
clined," Many  historians  call  attention  to 
the  fact  that  where  the  Bible-schools  were 
continued,  or  where  they  were  early  renewed, 
there  Christianity  was  preserved  in  its  purest 
form,  and  produced  its  fairest  flower.  The 
Waldenses  have  kept  up  Bible  training 
among  their  people  for  a  thousand  years. 

The  Jewish  Talmud  says  :  "Jerusalem  was 
destroyed  because  the  instruction  of  the 
young  was  neglected."  Bishop  Jebb  de- 
clares that  through  all  the  centuries  of  the 
Christian  era  "  in  exact  proportion  as  cate- 
chizing has  been  practiced  or  neglected,  in 
the  same  proportion  have  the  public  faith 
and  morals  been  seen  to  flourish  or  decline." 
TrumbulP  reminds  us  that  "The  history  of 
the  Christian  Church  shows  that  just  in  pro- 
portion as  the  Church  Bible-school — the  Sun- 
day-school as  we  now  call  it — has  been  ac- 
corded the  place  which  our  Lord  assigned  to 
it  in  the  original  plan  of  His  Church,  has 
substantial  progress  been  made  in  the  ex- 

i"Yale  Lectures,"  p.  66. 


22      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

tending  of  the  membership,  and  in  the  up- 
building—^the  edifying — of  the  body  of  Chris- 
tian believers  in  the  knowledge  of  God's 
Word  and  in  the  practice  of  its  precepts."  If 
history  be  a  guide,  we  must  not  allow  the 
teaching  function  of  the  Church  to  go  into 
decline. 

The  modern  Sunday-school  movement 
dates  from  1 780,  when  Robert  Raikes  told  his 
experience  with  the  neglected  children  of 
Gloucester,  England.  Raikes  tells  us  that 
pin-making  had  been  an  important  industry 
at  Gloucester  from  the  early  part  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  Many  small  children 
from  the  city  and  surrounding  regions  were 
employed.  Vast  numbers  of  them  were  un- 
educated and  away  from  parental  restraint 
and  moral  supervision.  On  Sundays  the 
factories  were  closed  and  gross  immoralities 
broke  out  among  these  children. 

One  morning  Mr.  Raikes  went  into  the 
suburbs  of  Gloucester,  and  seeing  a  group 
of  children  at  play,  he  asked  a  woman 
whether  they  belonged  to  that  part  of  the 
city  or  not.  The  woman  replied :  "  The 
street  is  filled  with  multitudes  of  these 
wretches,  who,  released  on  that  day  (the  Sab- 
bath) from  employment,  spend  their  time  in 
noise    and    riot,   playing    at    '  chuck,'    and 


Origin,  History,  Mission  and  Power     23 

cursing  and  swearing  in  a  manner  so  horrid 
as  to  convey  to  any  serious  mind  an  idea  of 
hell  rather  than  any  other  place."  \ 

Mr.  Raikes  thought  it  would  be  harmless 
if  some  little  plan  was  formed  to  check  what 
he  called  *'  This  deplorable  profanation  of  the 
Sabbath."  He  inquired  of  the  woman  if 
there  were  teachers  in  the  neighbourhood. 
He  was  told  of  four  women.  He  made  an 
agreement  to  pay  each  of  these  four  teachers 
a  shilling  a  Sabbath  to  instruct  in  reading 
and  church  catechism  the  children  he  might 
send  to  them.  "The  children  were  to  come 
soon  after  ten  in  the  morning,  and  stay  till 
twelve ;  they  were  then  to  go  home  and  stay 
till  one  ;  and  after  reading  a  lesson  they  were 
to  be  conducted  to  church.  After  church 
they  were  to  be  employed  in  repeating  the 
catechism  till  half-past  five,  and  then  to  be 
dismissed,  with  the  injunction  to  go  home 
without  making  a  noise ;  and  by  no  means 
to  play  in  the  street."  ^ 

In  an  account  given  by  Mr.  Raikes  to 
Colonel  Townley,  and  published  later  in  the 
Gentleman' s  Magazine,  he  said  :  "  All  that  I 
require  are  clean  hands,  clean  face,  and  the 
hair  combed.     If  you  have  no  clean  shirt, 

1  Harris,  "  The  Story  of  Robert  Raikes,"  p.  47. 
'  Letter  of  Robert  Raikes,  June  5,  17S4. 


24      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

come  in  that  which  you  have  on."  He  char- 
acterized his  work  as  '*  botanizing  in  human 
nature."  The  children  received  were  from 
six  to  fourteen  years  of  age.  Only  boys 
were  admitted  at  first,  but  three  years  later 
girls  were  allowed  to  come.  We  learn  that 
some  of  the  scholars  marched  from  their 
houses  with  logs  of  wood  and  weights  tied 
to  their  legs  to  prevent  their  running 
away.  A  boy,  "Winkin  Jim,"  brought  a 
young  badger  under  his  arms,  and  "  let  it 
fly"  in  school  so  as  to  make  "Old  Mother 
Critchley  jump,"  ^ 

At  the  close  of  three  years  a  woman,  who 
lived  near  one  of  the  schools  thus  opened, 
said  to  Mr.  Raikes :  "  The  place  is  quite  a 
heaven  upon  Sundays  compared  to  what  it 
used  to  be." 

Mr.  Church,  a  manufacturer  of  hemp  and 
flax,  who  employed  many  children,  when 
asked  by  Raikes  if  he  had  perceived  any  al- 
teration in  the  poor  children  he  employed, 
said  :  '*  Sir,  the  change  could  not  have  been 
more  extraordinary,  in  my  opinion,  had  they 
been  transformed  from  the  shape  of  wolves 
and  tigers  to  that  of  men.  In  temper,  dis- 
position, and  manners,  they  could  hardly  be 
said  to  differ  from  the  brute  creation.     But 

1  Harris,  "  The  Story  of  Robert  Raikes,"  p.  53. 


Origin,  History,  Mission  and  Power     25 

since  the  establishment  of  the  Sunday-schools 
they  have  seemed  anxious  to  show  that  they 
are  not  the  ignorant,  illiterate  creatures  they 
were  before."  ^ 

So  startling  was  the  reformation  wrought 
by  the  primitive  Sunday-schools  that  Adam 
Smith  said  :  "  No  plan  has  promised  to  effect 
a  change  of  manner  with  equal  ease  since 
the  days  of  the  apostles."  ^ 

The  queen  summoned  Mr.  Raikes  to  her 
presence  in  order  to  hear  from  him  "by  what 
accident  a  thought  which  promised  so  much 
benefit  to  the  lower  order  of  people  as  the  in- 
stitution of  the  Sunday-school  was  suggested 
to  his  mind." 

In  five  years  Raikes'  experiment  was 
deemed  a  success,  and  God  gave  Robert 
Raikes  to  see  some  of  the  harvest  of  his 
faithful  sowing.  When  he  saw  the  direful 
need  of  something  being  done  for  the  street 
arabs,  a .  voice  seemed  to  whisper  to  him, 
"  Try ! "  Later  he  said  :  "  I  can  never  pass 
by  the  spot  where  the  word  try  came  so 
powerfully  into  my  mind,  without  lifting  up 
my  heart  and  hands  to  heaven,  in  gratitude 
to  God,  for  having  put  such  a  thought  into 
my  heart." 

1  Letter  of  Robert  Raikes,  June  5,  1784. 

2  Harris,  "  The  Story  of  Robert  Raikes,"  p.  129. 


26      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

We  have  seen  that  the  first  teachers  were 
paid  teachers.  This  fact  Hmited  the  spread 
and  permanence  of  the  Sunday-school  for  a 
time.  A  writer  in  the  Sunday- School  Reposi- 
tory says :  "  If  we  were  asked  whose  name 
stood  next  to  that  of  Robert  Raikes  in  the 
annals  of  Sunday-schools,  we  should  say  the 
person  who  first  came  forward  and  voluntarily 
proffered  his  exertions,  his  time,  and  his 
talents  to  the  instruction  of  the  young  and 
the  poor  ;  since  an  imitation  of  his  example 
has  been  the  great  cause  of  the  present 
flourishing  state  of  these  institutions,  and  of 
all  that  future  additional  increase  which  may 
be  reasonably  anticipated." 

Previous  to  the  movement  by  Raikes  other 
men  had  sought  the  religious  training  of  the 
young.  Thirty  years  before  the  Sunday- 
school  at  Gloucester,  John  Wesley  had 
gathered  the  children  in  various  parts  of 
England  for  religious  instruction.  "  Wesley 
saw  clearly  that  the  child  was  the  heir,  and 
that  to  possess  the  child  was  to  build  the 
church." 

In  July  i8,  1784,  Wesley  was  at  Bingley 
Church.  In  his  journal  of  that  date  he  says : 
"  Before  service  I  stepped  into  the  Sunday- 
school,  which  contains  240  children,  taught 
every  Sunday  by  several  masters,  and  super- 


Origin,  History,  Mission  and  Power     27 

intended  by  the  curate.  ...  I  find  these 
schools  springing  up  wherever  I  go.  Per- 
haps God  may  have  a  deeper  end  therein 
than  men  are  aware  of.  Who  knows  but 
some  of  these  schools  may  become  nurseries 
for  Christians?"  ^ 

To  Rev.  Richard  Rodda,  of  Chester, 
Wesley  wrote  on  June  17,  1787:  "  My  dear 
brother,  I  am  glad  you  have  taken  in  hand 
that  blessed  work  of  setting  up  Sunday- 
schools  in  Chester.  It  seems  these  will  be 
one  great  means  of  reviving  religion  through- 
out the  nation.  I  wonder  Satan  has  not  yet 
sent  out  some  able  champion  against  them." 
In  his  journal  of  Sunday,  April  20,  1788, 
when  at  Bolton  he  writes  :  "  About  three  (in 
the  afternoon)  I  met  between  nine  hundred 
and  a  thousand  of  the  children  belonging  to 
our  Sunday-schools.  I  never  saw  such  a 
sight  before."^  His  prophetic  soul  was 
thrilled  at  the  prospect.  On  March  24,  1 790, 
Wesley  said  of  the  Sunday-schools :  "It  is 
one  of  the  noblest  institutions  which  has  been 
seen  in  Europe  for  some  centuries." 

Secular  instruction  was  given  in  the  very 
early  Sunday-schools,  because  its  first  mis- 
sion was  to  the  illiterate,  but  when  the  public 

'  Wesley's  Journal,  Vol.  II,  p.  599. 
'  Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  p.  690. 


28      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

schools  became  more  common,  religious  in- 
struction came  naturally  into  prominence. 

One  of  the  first  Sunday-schools  in  the 
United  States  was  organized  by  Bishop 
Asbury  in  1 786  in  a  private  house  in  Hanover 
County,  Virginia.  Other  Sunday-schools 
early  appeared  in  Boston,  New  York,  and 
Philadelphia.  By  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century  the  Sunday-school  was  "  an  accepted 
and  essential  agency  for  any  progressive 
church." 

By  1786  there  were  250,000  scholars  in  the 
Sunday-schools  of  England.  In  1827  there 
were  1,250,000  in  the  Sunday-schools  of 
Great  Britain  and  America.  In  1850  there 
were  6,000,000  in  all  Sunday-schools,  In 
1875  there  were  110,000  Sunday-schools; 
1,500,000  teachers ;  and  10,000,000  scholars. 
In  1911  there  are  over  28,000,000  officers, 
teachers,  and  scholars  in  the  Sunday-schools 
of  all  nations.  This  movement  is  spreading 
throughout  the  world. 

In  the  United  States  there  are  i5o,455 
Sunday-schools  ;  1,544,455  officers  and  teach- 
ers ;  12,777,739  scholars.  In  our  public 
schools  in  1908  there  were  466,000  teachers, 
and  16,000,000  pupils.  There  are  about  a 
million  more  teachers  in  the  Sunday-schools 
of  America  than  in  our  public  schools. 


Origin,  History,  Mission  and  Power     29 

The  increase  of  Sunday-school  forces  in  the 
United  States  from  1905  to  1908  was  as  fol- 
lows :  Schools,  15,021;  teachers,  37,727; 
scholars,  1,439,266.  This  means  an  increase 
per  day  of  over  thirteen  schools,  thirty-four 
teachers,  and  thirteen  hundred  and  fourteen 
scholars. 

Let  us  have  broader  views  of  the  possibili- 
ties of  this  world-wide  movement.  In  1905  a 
man  said  to  Mr.  W.  N.  Hartshorn,  chairman 
of  the  Executive  Committee  for  International 
Sunday-schools,  as  he  thought  of  the  meagre 
financial  support  given  to  the  committee  for 
their  work :  "  Why,  my  dear  brother,  you 
seem  to  be  doing  a  world-wide  business  on  a 
'  nickel  in  the  slot  returns,'  using  narrow 
gauge,  single-track  equipment  and  power 
rather  than  the  wide  gauge,  four-track  equip- 
ment of  the  '  Empire  State  '  and  '  Twentieth 
Century  Limited.'  "  ^  We  must  give  the  Sun- 
day-school a  chance  to  work  out  its  mighty 
mission,  and  this  can  be  done  only  as  the 
Church  shall  place  much  larger  gifts  upon 
God's  altar  for  the  Sunday-school  work. 

2.  The  Sunday  -  schooV s  Mission  and 
Poiver.  The  Sunday-school  exists  for  char- 
acter. Its  purpose  is  to  save  the  scholar. 
This  is  forever  its  fundamental  aim.     Every- 

'  Report  of  the  Toronto  Convention,  p.  413. 


30      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

thing  else  is  only  a  means  to  this  supreme 
end.  Its  mission  is  the  same  as  the  Bible's, 
the  same  as  Christ's.  "  The  ultimate  aim  of 
the  teaching  is  the  knowledge  of  Christ, 
Christian  experience,  personal  salvation."  ^ 
The  aim  of  Sunday-schools  is  *'  to  quicken 
spiritual  life  and  instinct  and  give  knowledge 
and  understanding  of  the  means  of  spiritual 
growth."  ^ 

The  Sunday-school  seeks  the  education  of 
the  heart.  History  furnishes  the  names  of 
many  men  who  were  brilliant  in  mind,  but 
depraved  in  heart.  Heart  culture  is  better 
than  brain  culture.  The  heart  is  "  centre  and 
spring "  of  character.  Its  supremacy  must 
be  forever  recognized.  Dr.  John  has  well 
said  that  "  it  is  not  simply  civilization  the 
world  wants,  but  civilization  with  con- 
science." ^ 

Culture  of  conscience  must  not  be  forgot- 
ten. Educated  rascals  are  a  bane  to  our  na- 
tional welfare.  Adepts  in  treachery  and 
crime  stain  the  nation's  fair  name,  and  threaten 
our  future  good.  Dr.  M.  J.  McLeod  •*  calls 
attention  to  the  man  convicted  in  the  courts 

^  Demarest. 

'  Mariana      C     Brown,     "  Sunday-school     Movements     in 
America,"  p.  178. 

•  "  The  Worth  of  a  Man,"  p.  233. 

*  "  Earthly  Discords  and  How  to  Heal  Them,"  p.  iS. 


Origin,  History,  Mission  and  Power     31 

of  Philadelphia  a  few  years  ago,  whose  life  of 
shame  and  crime  was  admitted  by  the  police 
to  be  without  a  parallel  in  the  records  of  the 
Rogue's  Gallery.  This  criminal  was  a  col- 
lege graduate  and  a  post-graduate  at  Ann 
Arbor.  He  was  so  clever  in  covering  up 
his  tracks  that  he  baffled  his  pursuers  for 
years.  He  was  at  last  found  guilty  of  arson, 
forgery,  bigamy,  and  murder.  He  was  an 
educated  rascal. 

Men  rob  municipalities,  pillage  the  coffers 
of  the  nation,  scandalize  our  civilization,  and 
blacken  the  pages  of  history  because  they 
have  cold,  hard,  selfish,  and  dwarfed  hearts. 
In  1905  after  two  years  of  investigation,  Judge 
Lindsey  estimated  that  at  least  fifty  per  cent, 
of  the  boys  of  Denver  were  dishonest.  "We 
want,"  says  Levi  Gilbert,  ''that  our  youth 
should  know  how  to  balance  up  their  bank 
accounts ;  but  we  want  to  have  them  do  it 
without  putting  a  cold  thousand  in  their 
pockets.  We  want  them  to  know  something 
about  geography,  but  something  more  than 
the  shortest  route  to  Canada."^  Wendell 
PhilHps,  in  his  lecture  on  "  Public  Opinion," 
said  :  "  They  tell  us  that  this  heart  of  mine, 
which  beats  so  unintermittedly  in  the  bosom, 
if  its  force  could  be  directed  against  a  granite 

>  Address  before  Toronto  Convention,  1905. 


32      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

pillar,  would  wear  it  to  dust  in  the  course  of 
a  man's  life.  You  may  build  your  capitol  of 
granite,  and  pile  it  high  as  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains ;  if  it  is  founded  on  or  mixed  up  with 
iniquity,  the  pulse  of  a  girl  will  in  time  beat 
it  down." 

Socrates  of  old  declared  :  "  I  do  nothing  but 
go  about  persuading  you  all,  old  and  young 
alike,  not  to  take  thought  for  your  persons,  or 
your  properties,  but  first  and  chiefly,  to  care 
"^  about  the  greatest  improvement  of  the  souV^ 
The  care  of  the  body  is  important,  the  train- 
ing of  the  mind  is  of  great  moment,  but  the 
culture  of  the  heart  is  supreme  and  crucial. 

A  sage  said  long  ago,  "  Keep  thy  heart 
with  all  diligence  for  out  of  it  are  the  issues 
of  life."  We  have  physical  culture,  intellec- 
tual culture,  but  heart  culture  is  often  neg- 
lected. Bushnell  asserts  :  "  The  world-ward 
nature  is  cared  for,  but  the  religious,  that 
which  opens  Godward,  that  which  aspires 
after  God,  and,  occupied  by  His  inspiring 
impulse,  mounts  into  all  good  character,  as 
being  even  liberty  itself ;  that  which  consum- 
mates and  crowns  the  real  greatness  and 
future  eternity  of  souls,  is  virtually  ignored."  ^ 

Watkinson  says :  ^  "  Rarely  men  think  of 

'  "  Christian  Nurture,"  p.  80. 

*•'  Education  of  the  Heart,"  p.  52. 


Origin,  History,  Mission  and  Power     33 

putting  the  heart  to  school."  The  imagina- 
tive, musical,  and  literary  faculties  are  cul- 
tured but  the  heart  is  neglected.  Thus  he 
declares  :  "  Every  plant  of  the  garden  is  cared 
for  except  the  rose."  To  illustrate  the  folly 
of  such  a  method  he  uses  one  of  the  fairy 
tales  of  botany.  "  The  foliage  of  the  poin- 
settia  close  around  the  flower  has  the  habit  of 
turning  to  a  splendid  scarlet,  which  is  often 
wrongly  regarded  as  the  blossom  itself ;  the 
actual  bloom  is  a  most  insignificant  thing. 
And,  just  as  the  leaves  of  this  fashionable 
plant  are  rich  with  gorgeous,  glowing  colour, 
whilst  the  real  flower  is  miserably  meagre  ; 
so  men  laboriously  train  their  secondary 
faculties  even  to  a  brilliant  perfection,  while 
the  supreme  organ  of  love  and  sacrifice  is 
permitted  to  dwindle  into  insignificance."  ^ 

The  Sunday-school  seeks  to  develop  the 
heart  in  love,  and  in  broad,  generous  im- 
pulses. "  The  formation  of  the  highest  type 
of  Christian  character  is  certainly  a  com- 
mendable purpose  in  the  work  of  the  Sunday- 
school."  2 

Love  is  queen  among  the  Christian  graces, 
and  she  must  be  given  her  rightful  crown. 
Hope  may  wave  her  golden  wand  and  keep 

'"Education  of  the  Heart,"  p.  52. 

*  Haslett,  '♦  Pedagogical  Bible-school,"  p.  69. 


34      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

her  eyes  fixed  on  the  gates  of  Paradise  ;  faith 
may  reach  her  hand  up  through  the  clouds 
on  whose  bosom  the  lightnings  flash  and 
play  and  lay  hold  upon  the  pillars  of  the 
Throne ;  mind  may  seek  to  know  the  secrets 
of  the  universe  in  rock,  and  flower,  and  star  ; 
wisdom  may  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  glittering 
enticements  of  sin,  and  allow  the  siren  voices 
of  iniquity  to  sing  in  vain  ;  enthusiasm  may 
storm  the  bristling  ramparts  of  enthroned 
sin  ;  patience  may  wait  calm  and  tranquil 
amid  the  storm  ;  but  love  is  supreme,  love  is 
queen,  love  is  "  the  end  of  the  commandment 
and  the  fulfilling  of  the  law." 

Because  the  Sunday-school  seeks  the  de- 
velopment of  the  heart  in  love  towards  God 
and  towards  man  it  helps  to  secure  the  full- 
orbed  life  for  man.  Phillips  Brooks  once 
spoke  of  the  length,  and  breadth,  and  height 
of  the  holy  city  as  revealed  by  John,  and  then 
went  on  to  say  that  life  is  like  the  city.  Life 
has  three  dimensions.  Man  moves  forward, 
he  has  aim,  ambition.  "  The  length  of  life  is 
its  onreach  in  some  noble  calling  or  pursuit." 
Life  moves  outward,  relates  itself  to  other 
lives,  has  breadth.  "  The  breadth  of  life  is 
its  outreach  towards  our  fellow  men  in  help- 
fulness and  sympathy."  Life  is  upward,  God- 
ward.     "  The   height   of   life  is  its   upreacb 


Origin,  History,  Mission  and  Power     35 

towards  God."  Life  thus  relates  to  self,  to 
neighbour,  and  to  God.  The  complete  life 
has  three  dimensions.  If  the  life  has  only- 
one  dimension,  relates  only  to  self,  it  is  nar- 
row. If  life  has  only  two  dimensions,  relates 
to  self  and  to  men,  it  is  shallow.  It  is  not 
until  life  has  three  dimensions,  not  until  it 
has  onreach,  outreach,  and  upreach  that  it  is 
full-orbed,  and  complete. 

The  Sunday-school  helps  to  develop  a  gen- 
eration of  Christians  whose  lives  are  founded 
upon  the  Word  of  God.  It  helps  to  make 
Bible  Christians.  What  we  greatly  need 
is  a  church-membership  whose  lives  are  il- 
luminated by  a  faithful  study  of  the  Word. 
This  will  help  to  banish  some  of  the  strange 
inconsistencies  of  church-members,  because 
the  Sunday-school  must  insist  upon  the  ap- 
plication of  the  truth  studied  to  the  life  lived. 
This  will  tend  to  rid  the  earth  of  such  con- 
ceptions as  are  indicated  by  the  following  in- 
cident. A  coloured  man  after  giving  a  glow- 
ing testimony  was  asked  to  pay  a  certain 
debt,  whereupon  he  remarked :  "  Ligun  is 
ligun,  an'  bisnes'  is  bisnes',  an'  I  ain't  gwine 
to  mix  um."  Training  in  the  Sunday-school 
will  help  all  of  us  to  "  mix  um." 

This  knowledge  of  the  Bible  gotten  in  the 
Sunday-school  arms  one  for  the  day  of  temp- 


36      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

tation.  When  Christ  was  tempted  He  thrust 
His  hand  into  God's  armoury  and  brought 
forth  the  Sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the 
Word  of  God,  and  gave  the  defeating  thrust 
to  the  Adversary  of  His  soul.  The  nim- 
bleness  with  which  Jesus  handled  that  Sword 
was  doubtless  partially  learned  in  the  syna- 
gogue Bible-school. 

Christmas  Evans,  the  Welch  preacher,  tells 
in  his  unique  way  how  the  unclean  spirit  that 
was  cast  out  could  not  find  entrance  into 
other  hearts.  He  imagines  that  the  demon 
passes  along  the  highway  until  he  sees  a 
plowboy  ready  to  begin  his  day's  toil :  "  Ah, 
here  is  a  human  house,  into  which  I  will  en- 
ter and  live,"  says  the  evil  spirit.  "  I  will  go 
and  possess  that  boy.  I  will  take  the  power 
of  his  youth  and  I  will  make  it  a  power  for 
wickedness.  I  will  use  every  faculty  of  his 
in  the  work  of  advancing  crime."  As  the 
evil  spirit  approached  the  lad  he  heard  him 
singing  the  ninth  verse  of  the  119th  Psalm: 
"Wherewithal  shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his 
way  ?  By  taking  heed  thereto  according  to 
Thy  word."  That  truth  out  of^  the  book  was 
the  young  man's  protection.  The  evil  spirit 
said :  "  This  place  is  too  dry  for  me  ;  I  can- 
not dwell  here ;  there  is  no  room  for  me 
here  ;  I  must  go  elsewhere." 


Origin,  History,  Mission  and  Power     37 

The  demon  passed  on  until  he  saw  a  girl 
on  her  way  to  school.  She  was  fair  of  face, 
graceful,  beautiful.  "Ah,"  said  the  evil 
spirit,  "  I  will  creep  to  her  side,  and  I  will 
whisper  into  her  ear  an  evil  thought  that  will 
set  her  soul  on  fire  and  turn  her  into  a  beau- 
tiful tempter.  Mighty  for  evil  will  be  her 
power.  I  will  dwell  forever  in  her  and  for- 
ever work  through  her."  But  as  he  drew 
near  he  perceived  she  had  an  open  Bible  in 
her  hand  and  was  trying  to  commit  to  mem- 
ory the  words  :  "  Our  daughters  shall  be  as 
corner-stones  carved  aftec  the  similitude  of  a 
palace."  Rebounding  with  a  shock  the  evil 
spirit  said  :  "  There  is  no  room  for  me  here  ; 
the  place  is  too  dry  for  me ;  I  will  go  else- 
where for  a  habitation." 

Finding  himself  in  front  of  the  church 
manse,  where  the  aged  minister  was  dying, 
the  evil  spirit  said :  "  Ah,  I  will  enter  into  the 
soul  of  this  man  of  God.  True,  my  stay 
will  be  short,  but  I  "can  do  a  most  deadly 
work.  Now  is  the  time  of  the  old  man's 
weakness.  I  will  create  doubt  within  him.  I 
will  make  him  talk  like  a  heathen  and  an  un- 
believer, and  die  under  a  cloud,  and  thus  I 
will  weaken  the  whole  force  of  his  long  min- 
istry," He  entered  the  manse  to  execute  his 
pernicious  purpose.     The  aged  minister  was 


38      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

saying  with  his  last  ounce  of  energy : 
"Though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death  I  will  fear  no  evil,  for  Thou 
art  with  me,  Thy  rod  and  Thy  staff  they 
comfort  me."  The  evil  spirit  had  struck  an- 
other of  the  shields  of  God,  and  he  fled  away. 
So  the  study  of  the  Bible  helps  to  fortify  us 
in  the  day  of  temptation. 

There  is  what  is  called  "  arrested  develop- 
ment "  in  the  vegetable  kingdom.  The  plant 
stops  short  of  perfection.  There  is  arrested 
development  in  the  physical  bodies  of  men. 
We  have  dwarfs,  cripples,  monstrosities. 
These  scenes  are  sad.  But  a  still  sadder 
sight  are  the  moral  dwarfs  and  cripples. 
What  pathos  and  tragedy  in  spiritual  ar- 
rested development !  To  see  a  heart  that 
once  beat  strong  and  steady  in  its  love  and 
devotion  to  God  smitten  with  the  devil  of 
blight  and  reduced  to  a  dwarfed  and  withered 
hope  is  indeed  appalling. 

All  life  must  be  fed.  The  plant  without 
air,  and  soil,  and  water  must  die.  The  body 
must  have  food  or  it  pines  and  shrivels.  The 
soul  must  have  nourishment  or  it  will  become 
dwarfed.  The  true  diagnosis  of  many  a  soul 
is :  "  Dying  from  lack  of  food."  The  Bible 
is  one  of  God's  foods  for  the  soul.  Chrysos- 
tom  went   so   far  as  to  say :  "  Here  is  the 


Origin,  History,  Mission  and  Power     39 

cause  of  all  our  evils,  our  not  knowing  the 
Scriptures."  One  man  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment said :  "  Soul,  thou  hast  much  goods 
laid  up  for  many  years :  take  thine  ease,  eat, 
drink  and  be  merry,"  But  a  soul  cannot 
be  fed  on  "  goods."  Jesus  said  :  '*  Sanctify 
them  by  Thy  truth  ;  Thy  word  is  truth."  A 
church  with  a  large  per  centage  of  its  mem- 
bership in  the  Sunday-school  must  grow 
strong. 

We  are  to  "search  the  Scriptures."  We 
must  "study  to  show  ourselves  approved 
unto  God."  The  synagogue  school  was 
called  "  Beth-Midrash,"  or  "  House  of  Search- 
ing." Gems  of  celestial  truth  reward  the 
earnest  searcher  of  God's  Word,  Dr.  Lori- 
mer  tells  of  the  sunken  forest  of  white  cedar 
on  the  coast  of  New  Jersey.  "This  mine  of 
buried  timber  has  been  worked  for  more  than 
eighty  years,  and  has  proved  to  be  a  source 
of  wealth.  Over  this  buried  forest  large 
trees  are  growing  and  flourishing,  and  these 
have  often  to  be  hewn  away  to  reach  the 
more  precious  logs  hidden  some  four  to  five 
feet  beneath  the  surface  of  the  soil."  '  So, 
often  as  a  reward  of  earnest  searching  we 
find  precious  truth  in  God's  Word  beneath 
the  surface. 

'  "  The  Arguments  for  Christianity,"  p.  258. 


40      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

What  a  sight  to  see  the  whole  church  at 
study  !  To  behold  almost  infants,  children, 
young  men  and  maidens,  adults  and  even 
the  aged,  all  studying  the  revelation  of  God, 
is  indeed  a  thrilling  sight. 

The  Sunday-school  is  a  mighty  evangelis- 
tic agency.  Dr.  W.  E.  Hatcher  says  :  "  A 
crowning  phase  of  church  organization — 
perhaps  the  most  powerful  and  far-reaching 
of  any  yet  devised — is  the  Sunday-school. 
It  has  the  Bible  for  its  text-book,  mankind 
for  its  constituency,  and  the  sweetest  hour  of 
the  Lord's  day  for  its  opportunity." 

That  it  is  a  great  missionary  agency  in 
new  communities  is  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  seventy  per  cent,  of  our  churches  were 
first  organized  as  Sunday-schools.  That  it  is 
a  tremendous  evangelistic  force  is  proven  by 
the  estimate  that  eighty-five  per  cent,  of  our 
church-membership  come  directly  from  the 
Sunday-school. 

The  Sunday-school  is  the  most  available 
avenue  through  which  to  reach  the  un- 
evangelized  in  the  communities  where 
churches  already  exist.  When  a  boy  on  the 
farm,  I  looked  after  the  sheep.  Sometimes  I 
would  have  to  carry  young  and  tender 
lambs  from  the  pasture  to  the  place  of 
shelter.     There  was  no  trouble  in  getting  the 


Origin,  History,  Mission  and  Power     41 

mother  to  follow  when  I  had  the  lamb.  Let 
the  Church  of  God  get  hold  of  the  child 
through  the  Sunday-school  and  the  mother 
is  likely  to  follow,  and  the  father  may  not  be 
far  away.  And  surely  this  kind  of  an 
evangelistic  agency  is  needed  when  we  recall 
the  startling  and  astounding  fact  that  there 
are  eight  million  children  in  the  United  States 
to  whom  neither  Protestant  nor  Roman 
Catholic  churches  minister. 

How  sacred  is  the  task  of  seeking  the  chil- 
dren of  non-Christian  homes !  "  He  who  sins 
against  a  child,"  says  Hugo,  "  sins  against 
God,"  and  if  we  neglect  a  child  when  we  might 
help  it  are  not  our  garments  smirched  ? 

There  are  children  who  seem  "  damned 
into  the  world."  "  Lust  is  their  father,  brutal- 
ity their  mother,  vice  their  teacher,  filth  their 
companion,  drunken  crime  their  ambition, 
hunger  their  inspiration,  and  drunkenness 
their  heaven."  ^ 

We  should  plant  Sunday-schools  in  the 
plague  spots  of  our  cities,  and  help  restore 
decency  where  there  is  now  moral  pollution. 
If  our  hearts  are  touched  with  divine  pity  we 
will  seek  for  our  Sunday-schools  not  simply 
the  children  of  Christian  homes,  but  also 
those  of  the  less  fortunate  families. 

1  Fiom  address  of  Frank  Crane. 


42       The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

Booker  T.  Washington  tells  of  his  first 
opportunity  of  attending  a  Sunday-school. 
He  was  a  poor  boy.  When  his  mother  died, 
he  was  thrown  out  as  a  waif  upon  the  street. 
One  Sunday  morning  a  good  man  called  to 
him,  and  said :  "  Sonny,  I  want  you  to  go 
with  me  to  Sunday-school."  Washington 
says  :  "  I  did  not  know  where  he  was  leading 
me,  but  I  had  faith  enough  in  him  to  follow, 
and  he  led  me,  a  poor  unknown  negro  boy, 
into  the  Sunday-school,  and  I  have  been  in- 
terested in  the  Sunday-school  ever  since."  ^ 

One  day  in  Philadelphia  a  young  man 
went  down  the  street  into  a  poor  section  of 
the  city,  and  saw  a  group  of  boys  and  girls. 
The  next  Sunday  he  started  a  Sunday-school 
among  them.  He  says  :  "  I  was  but  a  boy 
when  I  began  the  Bethany  Sunday-school  in 
what  was  then  a  very  poor  part  of  the  city."^ 
Twenty-seven  children  were  present  the  first 
Sunday.  Some  were  unwashed  and  their 
hair  unkempt.  The  young  superintendent 
got  water  and  washed  their  faces,  and  combed 
their  hair.  This  process  was  often  repeated 
in  that  school.  Fathers  and  mothers 
wondered  what  had  happened  to  Johnny  and 

'  Address,  "  The  Religious  Development  of  the  Negro." 
^  From     a    letter    received    by    the   author   concerning   the 
Bethany  Sunday-school. 


Origin,  History,  Mission  and  Power     43 

Mary  at  the  Sunday-school.  Curiosity  was 
aroused.  The  school  grew.  Soon  some  of 
the  parents  sent  all  the  children.  Out  of  that 
Sunday-school  grew  the  present  Bethany 
Sunday-school  and  church  which  have  the 
largest  membership  in  the  Presbyterian  de- 
nomination, if  not  in  the  world.  That  "  boy  " 
is  still  superintendent.  He  has  a  Bible  class 
of  eight  hundred.  He  visits  the  sick,  and  he 
sends  flowers  when  there  is  a  funeral  among  his 
scholars.  The  world  knows  this  prince  among 
Christian  gentlemen  as  John  Wanamaker. 

Thus  the  Sunday-school  may  prove  itself 
a  great  evangelistic  force,  a  recruiting  agency 
for  the  progress  of  the  Church. 

The  adult  classes  may  be  an  evangelizing 
agency.  The  time  is  overdue  when  the  adult 
membership  of  the  church  should  not  only  be 
found  in  Bible  classes,  but  when  they  should 
recognize  the  evangelistic  force  of  a  Bible 
class.  Marion  Lawrance,  speaking  of  the 
work  of  organization  in  a  Bible  class  of  men, 
tells  how  the  class  increased.  When  they 
wanted  a  new  member  volunteers  were  called 
for,  and  seven  were  accepted,  one  for  each 
day  in  the  week.  On  Monday  the  one 
designated  for  that  day  made  a  pleasant  call, 
and  invited  him  to  the  class  the  next  Sab- 
Sath.     "  He  would   think  of  it."     On  Tues- 


44      1  he  Work,  of  the  Sunday-School 

day  another  called,  and  gave  the  invitation 
in  his  way ;  and  without  unduly  pressing  it, 
each  in  turn  paid  his  respects.  The  one  who 
called  on  Sunday  morning  found  him  yet  in 
bed.  At  the  class  a  brief  report  was  asked 
from  each,  and  then  seven  more  volunteers 
called.  One  day  the  man  said  :  "I  never  had 
so  much  interest  taken  in  me  in  my  life.  I 
think  all  my  friends  must  be  in  the  Bible  class 
of  the  Grove  Street  church.  I'll  be  there 
next  Sunday,  sure  !  " 

The  Bible-school  has  been  called  "  The 
University  of  Protestantism."  Bishop  Vin- 
cent sees  in  the  ideal  school  of  the  future,  "  A 
College  of  the  Book  of  books."  ^ 

Provision  is  now  made  so  that  people  of  all 
ages  may  be  in  some  department  of  this 
school.  The  Sunday-school  is  not  the  chil- 
dren's church,  nor  is  it  a  school  simply  for 
children.  It  is  the  church-school,  intended 
for  all.  New-born  babes  are  placed  upon  the 
cradle-roll,  and  are  welcomed  into  the  ranks 
of  the  Sunday-school  host  with  the  song  : 

"  Another  new  baby  we  welcome  to-day. 
To-day  a  new  name  has  been  given. 
We  will  give  him  a  place  on  our  dear  cradle-roll, 
For  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

^  From  address  on  "  A  Forward  Look  for  the  Sunday- 
school." 


Origin,  History,  Mission  and  Power     45 

For  the  infirm  and  all  who  are  necessarily 
absent  from  the  session  of  the  school  we  have 
the  Home  Department.  The  place  for  all 
others  is  the  school  itself.  Father  with  a  way- 
ward son,  the  way  to  keep  him  in  the  Sun- 
day-school is  to  be  there  yourself.  "Azariah 
did  that  which  was  right  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord,  according  to  all  that  his  father  Amaziah 
had  done."  ^  We  are  all  imitators,  and  ex- 
ample means  much. 

Of  the  ancient  Jewish  Bible-school  we  read : 
"  The  righteous  go  from  the  synagogue  to 
the  school,"  or,  as  we  would  now  say  :  "The 
good  man  goes  from  the  church  to  the  Sun- 
day-school." ^  The  primary  department  of 
the  Jewish  school  included  those  from  six  to 
ten  years  of  age.  The  intermediate  depart- 
ment comprised  scholars  from  ten  to  fifteen. 
The  senior  department  was  made  up  of  all 
over  fifteen  years  old.^  The  scholar  never 
became  too  old  for  that  school,  and  at 
death  he  graduated  into  the  celestial  school 
on  high.  Let  that  ideal  swing  in  sacred 
splendour  before  our  modern  Sunday-schools. 

Some  modern  mottoes  are  suggestive: 
"  All  the  Church  in  the  Sunday-school ;  all 
the  Sunday-school  in  the  Church."     Here  is 

1  2  Kings  XV.  3. 

*  Trumbull,  "  Yale  Lectures,"  p.  i6.  ^  Ibid,^  p.  192, 


46      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

another  :  "  Every  scholar  a  Christian  ;  every 
Christian  a  worker  ;  every  worker  trained." 
We  will  mention  still  one  more :  "  Every 
member  present  every  Sunday,  on  time,  with 
his  own  Bible,  a  liberal  offering,  a  studied 
lesson,  and  a  mind  to  learn."  A  church  with 
such  ideals  fulfilled  in  her  Sunday-school  will 
become  "  beautiful  as  Tirzah,  comely  as  Jeru- 
salem, and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners !  " 
We  begin  to  see  that  the  Sunday-school 
contains  mighty  possibilities  for  the  moral 
and  religious  uplift  of  the  nation  and  the  race. 
The  Sunday-school  harnesses  the  forces  of 
the  church,  it  develops  the  teachers  and  those 
who  are  taught,  instructing  them  in  the  mes- 
sage of  the  world's  great  Book.  It  vastly 
extends  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  the  world. 
It  helps  to  bind  together  the  nations  of  the 
earth  in  peace  and  harmony.  It  is  a  great 
educator  of  temperance  and  is  forever  laying 
foundations  for  our  nation's  future  glory  and 
welfare.  The  teaching  of  temperance  in  the 
Sunday-school  was  adopted  by  the  convention 
of  1890.  The  boys  of  that  time  are  voters 
now,  and  new  impetus  is  coming  every  day 
to  this  reform.  The  Sunday-school  is  a  great 
patriotic  institution.  Daniel  Webster  once 
asked  Thomas  Jefferson  :  "  What  is  to  be  the 
salvation  of  our  nation  ? "     After   a   pause, 


Origin,  History,  Mission  and  Power     47 

Jefferson  replied  :  "  Our  nation  will  be  saved, 
if  saved  at  all,  by  teaching  children  to  love 
the  Saviour." 

Many  parents  neglect  the  teaching  of  the 
Bible  to  the  boys  and  girls  growing  up  in  the 
home.  Then,  too,  the  Bible  has  passed  al- 
most entirely  from  the  public  school.  It  now 
becomes  more  and  more  incumbent  upon  the 
Sunday-school  to  give  instruction  concerning 
those  principles  and  precepts  upon  which  the 
prosperity  and  perpetuity  of  the  nation  rests. 
It  is  certain  that  the  Sunday-school  is  one  of 
the  prime  factors  in  moulding  the  religious 
and  the  moral  condition  of  our  Republic.  In 
this  institution  is  one  of  the  greatest  forces 
for  fashioning  the  future  of  the  nation.  The 
English  statesman,  John  Bright,  speaking  of 
the  influence  of  the  Sunday-school  upon  his 
own  nation,  said  :  "  I  believe  that  there  is  no 
field  of  labour,  no  field  of  Christian  benevo- 
lence, which  has  yielded  a  greater  harvest  to 
our  national  interests  and  national  character  J/ 
than  the  great  institution  of  the  Sunday- 
school."  ^  Mr.  Green  says  in  his  "  History  of 
the  English  People  "  that  the  Sunday-schools 
established  by  Mr,  Raikes  at  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth    century    were  the  beginning  of 

'  Quoted  by  Professor  Richards  in  address  on  "  An  Historic 
View  of  the  Sunday-school." 


y 


48      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

popular  education.  Mr.  D.  Ballantyne,  speak- 
ing for  Scotland  at  the  World's  Sunday- 
school  Convention  in  Rome  in  1907,  said : 
"  Scotland  owes  a  large  measure  of  its  moral 
and  religious  strength  to  the  existence  of  its 
Sunday-schools,  and  at  no  time  in  its  history 
was  this  religious  agency  so  wide-spread  as  it 
is  now." 

Dr.  Trumbull  claims  that  "  America  has 
been  practically  saved  to  Christianity  and  the 
religion  of  the  Bible  by  the  Sunday-school."  ^ 
A  Frenchman  having  studied  our  national 
life  gave  as  his  judgment  that :  "  The  Sun- 
day-school is  one  of  the  strongest  foundations 
of  the  republican  institutions  of  the  United 
States." 

President  McKinley,  in  a  letter  to  the  editor 
of  the  Sunday-School  Times,  said :  "  Every 
youth  who  is  taught  to  observe  the  principles 
of  justice  and  forbearance  becomes  an  intelli- 
gent friend  of  the  doctrine  of  peace,  and  every 
endeavour  which  aims  at  such  instruction  is 
deserving  of  the  highest  commendation."  ^ 
Marion  Lawrance  calls  the  Sunday-school 
"  the  noblest  development  of  the  nineteenth 
century." 

'"Yale  Lectures,"  p.  122. 

*  Tenth    International    Sunday-school   Convention   Report, 
p.  95. 


Origin,  History,  Mission  and  Power     49 

Tremendous  are  the  possibilities  in  the 
Sunday-school  for  building  the  Church  of  the 
living  God.  The  Sunday-school  must  extend 
her  work  into  the  unevangelized  communities, 
and  she  must  intensify  it  in  the  fields  already 
occupied. 

The  aim  set  forth  when  the  American  Sun- 
day-school Union  was  organized  in  1824  must 
be  our  ideal :  "To  plant  a  Sunday-school 
wherever  there  is  a  population."  One  man 
in  the  glow  of  his  holy  enthusiasm  said : 
"  Let  us  make  it  down-hill  from  every  direc- 
tion to  our  Sunday-schools."  And  as  the 
consecrated  host  of  God's  militant  Church 
faces  the  splendid  opportunities  for  service  in 
the  Sunday-school  we  seem  to  hear  the  divine 
word :  "  Behold,  I  have  set  before  thee  an 
open  door,  and  no  man  can  shut  it." 


II 


THE  TEACHER  ;  HIS  TASK ;  HIS 

EQUIPMENT;  HIS  POWER j 

AND  HIS  REWARD 


"  He  who  teaches  the  child  of  his  fellow  man  shall  occupy  a 

prominent  place  among  the  saints  above." — Jewish  Saying. 

"  I  do  not  believe  that  all  the  efforts  men  have  ever  made 
tend  so  much  to  the  greatness  and  happiness,  and  to  the 
security  and  true  glory  of  this  country  (Scotland),  as  have  the 
efforts  of  your  Sunday-school  teachers." — yo/m  Bright. 

"  I  think  it  is  Browning  who  tells  us  in  one  of  his  poems  of  a 
picture  in  which  an  angel  is  portrayed  intently  engaged  in  doing 
something.  At  first  sight  it  does  not  clearly  appear  what  he  is 
doing.  The  angel  appears  chained  to  the  spot ;  he  is  intent 
upon  something.  And  when  you  look  at  it  closely,  by  the 
angel's  side  there  kneels  a  little  child  with  closed  eyes  and  up- 
lifted hands  and  face  ;  and  the  angel  is  teaching  the  little  child 
to  pray.  The  heavens  are  opened,  and  other  angels  are  beck- 
oning this  angel  to  heaven.  On  the  earth  great  enterprises  are 
beckoning  the  angel.  But  he  is  chained  to  the  spot;  for  to 
teach  the  little  child  to  pray  is  better  than  entering  the  open 
heavens;  certainly,  before  the  time." — E.  Y.  Mullins. 


II 

The  Teacher;   His   Task;   His  Equip- 
ment; His  Power;  and  His  Reward 

TEACHING  is  the  most  ancient  func- 
tion of  the  Church,  so  the  teacher  is 
older  than  the  preacher.  Jesus  is 
called  "  The  Great  Teacher^  It  is  recorded 
that  He  and  His  apostles  "  went  about  teach- 
ing and  preaching."  In  His  last  commission 
Jesus  said  :  "  Go  ye  therefore,  and  make  dis- 
ciples (learners)  of  all  the  nations :  .  .  . 
teaching  them  to  observe  all  things."  The 
apostle  writes  :  "  And  God  hath  set  some  in 
the  Church,  first  apostles,  secondly  prophets, 
thirdly  teachers,  then  miracles,  then  gifts  of 
healings,  helps,  governments,  divers  kinds  of 
tongues."  ^  Thus  it  is  seen  that  the  teacher 
takes  high  rank  in  his  calling ;  he  is  in  a 
worthy  succession. 

One  of  our  statesmen  said  not  long  ago  : 
"The  educational  problem  of  this  age,  and 
every  other  age,  is  not  the  founding  of  the 
schoolhouse  but  the  making  of  the  school- 
master."    Similar  words  may  be  said  con- 

»  I  Cor.  xii.  28. 

53 


54      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

cerning  our  Sunday-school  work.  The 
teacher  is  the  prime  factor. 

I.  The  Teacher's  Task.  The  Sunday- 
school  teacher  deals  with  values  beyond  pos- 
sible estimate.  He  works  upon  a  soul.  He 
works  with  God  upon  a  soul.  He  uses  God's 
Word  as  he  works  with  God  upon  a  soul. 
He  works  for  eternity  as  he  uses  God's  Word 
and  works  with  God  upon  a  soul. 

Teaching  is  defined  as  "  causing  another  to 
know."  The  teacher  then  must  study  the  fine 
art  of  true  pedagogy.  The  scholars  must  be 
taught  to  perceive  the  truth,  to  partake  of  the 
truth,  and  then  to  proclaim  the  truth.  Some 
one  has  said  that  the  teacher's  task  is  to  bring 
the  child  to  Christ,  to  build  him  up  in  Christ, 
and  to  send  him  oxiXfor  Christ.  It  is  said  of 
Jesus  :  "  The  whole  purpose  of  His  teaching 
was  to  bring  men  into  right  relation  with  the 
divine  will,  to  show  them  how  to  live  in  har- 
mony with  the  divine  power,  and  at  last  to 
unite  them  with  the  divine  personality." 

Bishop  Vincent  says  of  the  teacher's  task  : 
"  It  is  a  great  work,  reaching  inward  even  to 
the  sacred  centre  of  the  soul's  life,  reaching 
upward  even  to  the  throne  of  God,  reaching 
forward  even  to  an  endless  eternity.  .  .  . 
It  is  a  work  upon  souls,  for  eternity,  under 
divine  inspection,  with  divine  agencies,  and  is 


The  Teacher's  Task  and  Reward      ^§ 

dependent  upon  divine  inspirations.  .  .  , 
He  is  to  teach  the  Word  of  God ;  to  teach 
Christ  through  the  Word  ;  and  to  so  teach 
Christ  through  the  Word  as  to  bring  souls  liv- 
ing in  this  world  into  vital  union  with  the 
Lord."  ^  Again  Bishop  Vincent  sums  up  the 
teacher's  work  :  (i)  To  see  that  the  truth  is 
imparted  ;  (2)  that  it  is  so  imparted  that  it 
will  be  received  ;  (3)  that  it  is  so  received 
that  it  will  be  retained  ;  (4)  that  it  is  so  re- 
tained that  it  will  be  employed  for  personal 
growth,  human  good,  and  God's  glory."  ^ 

Sunday-school  scholars  need  enlighten- 
ment, guidance,  encouragement,  and  inspira- 
tion. They  must  have  bread  for  the  soul ; 
chaff  will  not  do.  Poetry  and  similes  may  well 
illustrate  and  adorn  the  truth,  but  they  must 
not  be  a  substitute  for  the  truth.  The  teacher 
must  give  food,  mental  and  spiritual  pabulum. 

The  teacher  sows  seeds  and  seeds  grow. 
This  is  his  encouragement.  He  sows  seed  in 
the  spring  time  of  immortal  lives.  He  plants 
truth  in  hearts  that  shall  grow  into  harvest  in 
the  golden  autumn  of  immortality.  He  sows 
with  eternity's  harvest  in  view. 

The  teacher  helps  to  train  the  tendrils  of 
the  heart's  affections  about  Christ  in  a  holy 

1  "  The  Modern  Sunday-school,"  pp.  72,  159. 
»  Hid.,  p.  166. 


56      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

allegiance,  and  to  save  lives  from  the  misery 
and  doom  of  sin. 

2.  The  Teacher's  Equipment.  What  John 
Brown  of  Haddington  said  to  his  theological 
students  may  be  said  to  the  Sunday-school 
teachers :  "  Three  things  ye  must  have : 
piety,  learning,  and  common  sense.  God 
will  gie  ye  the  first ;  I  will  gie  ye  the  second  ; 
but  if  ye  hae  nae  the  third,  the  Lord  hae 
mercy  on  ye." 

First  of  all,  the  teacher  must  know  God. 
This  knowledge  is  not  mere  mental  assent 
concerning  the  actuality  of  God,  it  is  not 
simply  belief  in  the  historic  personality  of 
Jesus,  but  a  heart-to-heart  relationship,  a  kin- 
ship of  soul  with  Christ,  a  fellowship  of  spirit 
with  the  Saviour  brought  about  by  a  loving 
trust  in  God  the  Father,  who  sent  Jesus  upon 
His  mission  to  save. 

The  teacher  must  have  experience  of  the 
truth  he  teaches.  "  A  man  must  himself  be 
a  Bible  before  he  can  understand  God's 
Bible."  No  matter  what  other  equipments 
he  may  possess,  without  this,  failure  is  cer- 
tain. With  this  in  large  degree,  other  quali- 
fications may  be  meagre,  and  yet  success 
may  be  achieved.  Dr.  Schauffler'  records 
the  incident  of  a  sailor  who  was  a  teacher. 

' «'  Pastoral  Leadership,"  p.  105. 


The  Teacher's  Task  and  Reward      57 

He  knew  little  of  history,  and  nothing  of 
science,  but  was  well  acquainted  with  Christ. 
Every  member  of  his  class  accepted  Christ 
and  made  public  confession.  He  then  went 
to  the  pastor  and  said :  "Take  my  class  away. 
I  am  uneducated.  I  can't  lead  them  any 
higher,  but  I  have  led  them  to  Christ.  Give 
me  a  new  class  that  does  not  know  Christ, 
and  I  will  try  to  lead  them  to  the  Shepherd." 
The  pastor  gave  that  class  to  a  more  edu- 
cated Christian,  and  he  appointed  the  man  a 
new  task,  and  he  led  every  member  of  the 
new  class  to  the  Saviour.  The  one  saving  ele- 
ment in  that  teacher's  equipment  was  his  per- 
sonal experience.  But  if  breadth  of  scholar- 
ship, grace  of  speech,  and  force  of  reason  can 
accompany  the  personal  experience  of  the 
teacher,  they  are  not  to  be  belittled,  but  ear- 
nestly coveted  and  consecrated  for  still  larger 
service  for  the  kingdom.  We  may  well  heed 
Tennyson's  lines : 

"  Let  knowledge  grow  from  more  to  more, 
But  more  of  reverence  in  us  dwell. 
That  mind  and  soul,  according  well, 
May  make  one  music  as  before." 

The  teacher  must  illustrate  in  life  what  he 
teaches  in  word,  for  "  the  teacher's  life  is  the 
life  of  his  teaching."     "  Character  is  capital." 


58      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

Here  is  the  teacher's  call  to  translate  into  a 
living  epistle  the  Sunday-school  lesson  he 
would  teach.  His  work  beckons  him  to  lofty 
accomplishment  on  the  plane  of  living. 

It  is  a  splendid  achievement  to  be  able  to 
carve  a  block  of  marble  into  an  image  so 
perfect  that  you  can  almost  see  the  muscle 
move,  the  nerve  quiver,  and  the  heart  beat. 
It  is  a  splendid  achievement  to  be  able  to 
take  a  simple  piece  of  music  like  "Home 
Sweet  Home  "  and  sing  it  with  such  pathos 
and  power  as  to  make  listeners  sob  and 
weep.  It  is  a  splendid  achievement  to  be  able 
to  so  weave  words  together  in  the  expression 
of  human  thought  as  to  sway  an  audience 
like  trees  before  a  tempest.  But  it  is  a 
nobler  achievement,  a  holier  accomplish- 
ment, and  a  diviner  art  to  adorn  the  Gospel 
in  daily  life,  and  to  give  the  teachings  of 
Jesus  a  new  incarnation. 

The  teacher  must  have  the  touch  of  God 
upon  his  life,  and  to  have  this  he  must  go 
alone  with  God.  Jacob  went  alone  with  God 
upon  the  heights  of  Bethel,  and  he  came 
forth  from  his  solitude  as  a  prince  of  Jehovah. 
Elijah  went  alone  with  God  upon  the  mount, 
and  came  forth  with  a  new  torch  of  light  in 
his  bosom.  Paul  went  alone  with  God  into 
the  desert  of  Arabia,  and  came  forth  with  a 


The  Teacher's  Task  and  Reward      59 

tongue  of  flame  and  with  a  heart  of  fire. 
John  the  Baptist  went  alone  with  God  in  the 
wilderness,  and  came  forth  as  an  evangelistic 
voice  to  pioneer  the  way  for  the  Messiah. 
Luther  went  alone  with  God,  and  came  forth 
as  the  knight-errant  of  the  Reformation. 
Lincoln  went  alone  with  God  amid  the  pelt- 
ing storms  of  the  Civil  War,  and  came  forth 
with  tranquil  heart.  Washington  went  alone 
with  God  at  Valley  Forge,  and  came  forth 
with  the  lustre  of  a  new  patriotism-  upon  his 
brow,  and  with  the  breath  of  the  Eternal 
upon  his  spirit.  And  thus  the  teacher  must 
find  divine  equipment  for  his  task. 

The  Sunday-school  teacher  must  know  the 
Bible.  The  divine  dictum  to  him,  as  well  as 
to  the  preacher,  is :  "  Study  to  show  thyself 
approved  unto  God,  a  workman  that  needeth 
not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly  dividing  the  word  of 
truth."  If  the  teacher  does  not  study  he  will 
get  into  the  fog,  and  instead  of  leading  his 
class  up  the  clear  heights  of  the  mountain  of 
truth  he  will  fall  with  them  into  the  ditch. 

The  teacher  must  know  more  than  the 
mere  mechanical  facts  concerning  the  Bible, 
such  as  the  location  of  the  various  books,  the 
geography  of  the  land  in  which  the  Bible  was 
written.  He  must  find  its  fountains  of  truth, 
its  life  for  the  soul.     He  must  read  his  Bible 


6o      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

not  simply  so  many  chapters  per  day  and  so 
many  books  per  month.  He  must  read  it  to 
get  life  out  of  it.  Joseph  Parker  says  :  "  Sup- 
pose a  man  were  appointed  by  us  to  report 
the  oratorio  called  the  Messiah,  We  ask  him 
to  tell  us  what  the  oratorio  is.  He  says,  '  I 
have  taken  infinite  pains  with  my  analysis, 
and  I  can  therefore  tell  you  exactly  what  the 
oratorio  is :  it  consists  of  two  thousand 
words ;  musically,  it  consists  of  fifty  breves, 
two  hundred  semibreves,  and  nearly  eight 
hundred  quavers ;  it  has  solos — soprano, 
bass,  tenor  ;  its  choruses  require  thousands  of 
voices.  This  is  the  oratorio.'  That  is  a 
woodman's  report ;  that  is  the  oratorio  by 
statistics."  ^  What  poverty  of  conception  of 
that  great  hymn  with  its  sweet  symphonies, 
triumphal  choruses,  and  hallelujah  strains  1 
Do  not  read  the  Bible  like  that.  Get  hold  of 
its  lofty  themes.  Let  its  holy  message  live 
in  your  heart,  let  its  heaven-born  truth  burn 
its  way  to  the  core  of  your  being  ! 

If  you  are  a  teacher,  you  need  to  read  the 
Bible  so  that  you  can  rightly  guide  the  in- 
quiring soul.  The  writer  recalls  the  facts  of 
an  incident  read  about  fifteen  years  ago.  A 
train  was  making  its  way  against  a  blizzard 
on   one    of   our  northern    railways.      There 

'  Parker's  "  People's  Bible — John,"  p.  79. 


The  Teacher's  Task  and  Reward      6l 

was  a  mother  with  her  child  on  that  train. 
She  was  nervous  for  she  was  afraid  she  might 
get  off  at  the  wrong  station.  A  man  in  the 
car  noticed  her  anxiety  and  assured  her  that 
he  knew  every  station  and  would  see  that  she 
was  put  off  at  the  right  place.  The  train 
stopped  at  the  town  next  to  the  one  she  was 
destined  for,  and  then  moved  on  again  in  the 
storm.  After  a  while  the  train  stopped  again 
and  the  man  said  to  the  woman  :  "  This  is 
your  station,  get  out  quickly."  She  took  her 
child  and  left  the  car,  and  the  train  moved 
on.  It  soon  stopped,  and  the  brakeman 
called  the  name  of  the  station  at  which  the 
woman  was  to  have  gotten  off.  The  man 
who  had  misdirected  the  woman  rushed  to 
the  brakeman  and  said :  "  Why,  you  have 
already  stopped  at  that  town."  The  brake- 
man  said :  "  No,  there  was  something  the 
matter  with  the  engine  and  we  stopped  a  few 
moments  to  repair  it."  "  My  God,"  ex- 
claimed the  man,  "  I  put  that  woman  and 
child  off  in  the  storm  !  "  They  went  back 
and  found  the  woman  and  her  child,  but  the 
storm  had  cast  the  winding  sheet  of  death 
about  them.  It  was  a  terrific  blunder  for  that 
man  to  misguide  that  traveller,  but  vastly 
more  tragic  is  it  to  give  misdirection  to  a  soul 
that    is    travelling    to   the  judgment.     The 


62       The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

teacher  must  know  his  Bible.  The  teacher 
must  know  the  scholar.  He  must  find  out 
the  mental,  social,  and  spiritual  condition  of 
every  member  of  his  class.  He  must  know 
how  to  find  the  "  point  of  contact."  He  must 
enter  the  realm  of  psychology,  and  he  will 
find  it  a  fascinating  field  for  study.  Eminent 
psychologists  have  rendered  splendid  service 
in  this  interesting  and  entrancing  realm. 
This  study  will  help  the  teacher  to  adapt  him- 
self to  the  mental  and  to  the  spiritual  condi- 
tion of  the  particular  scholars  he  is  called 
upon  to  teach.  The  laws  of  psychology  that 
govern  the  mind  have  been  established  by 
the  Creator,  and  should  be  most  eagerly  and 
faithfully  studied  by  the  Sunday-school 
teacher. 

The  faithful  study  of  the  psychology  of  the 
scholar  will  result  in  a  clear  recognition  of 
the  tremendous  fact  of  the  tendency  to  per- 
manency of  character,  and  that  this  law 
operates  early  in  life.  We  have  often  heard 
the  statement :  "  Sow  an  act  and  you  reap  a 
habit ;  sow  a  habit  and  you  reap  a  character ; 
sow  a  character  and  you  reap  a  destiny." 
And  this  sowing  begins  early. 

Professor  De  Motte  says :  "  Action  deter- 
mines structure."  He  means  that  the  man 
who  lives  a  good  life  is  building  it  into  the 


The  Teacher's  Task  and  Reward      63 

very  tissues  of  his  body,  and  the  man  who 
lives  a  vicious  life  is  building  that  into  his 
nerve  fibre,  brain  tissue,  and  muscle  structure. 

The  structure  of  the  moral  man  is  likewise 
affected  by  his  deeds  and  by  his  thoughts. 
When  a  person  sins  he  is  but  helping  to  fix 
a  kind  of  structure  in  his  moral  fibre  that  will 
keep  him  sinning.  As  Joseph  Cook  declares  : 
"  Repetition  is  the  hammer  which  forges  the 
chains  of  habit,  and  our  own  free  choices 
wield  the  hammer."  ^ 

"  Not  reformation,  but  formation  "  demands 
our  earnest  attention  more  and  more. 
Heaven  does  not  come  by  chance.  God  is 
not  capricious.  The  race  is  set  before  us,  it 
must  be  run.  The  battle  is  put  in  array,  it 
must  be  fought.  The  prize  is  held  in  view, 
it  must  be  won.  The  crowns  of  life  are  not 
thrown  out  at  random  to  the  crowd,  but  are 
given  to  those  who  walk  worthy  of  the  call- 
ing of  God.  The  moral  world  is  no  chance 
world.  We  are  under  the  regency  of  law. 
God  makes  no  mistakes  in  the  bestowal  of 
His  rewards.  So  far  as  man's  part  in  salva- 
tion is  concerned,  coronation  depends  upon 
consecration.  Happy  the  life  that  recognizes 
God's  claim  early. 

The  Sunday-school  teacher  must  be  willing 

»  "  Occident,"  p.  177. 


64      The_,Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

to  work.  He  must  aspire  to  be  at  his  best. 
He  must  "  feel  the  thing  he  ought  to  be  beat- 
ing beneath  the  thing  he  is."  He  knows 
that  head  and  heart  must  be  joined  in  a  holy 
alliance  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  task 
undertaken.  He  knows  that  he  must  "  not 
pray  for  tasks  equal  to  his  powers,  but  for 
powers  equal  to  his  tasks." 

A  man  profuse  in  tears,  but  short  on 
thought,  had  the  habit  of  addressing  Sun- 
day-schools. One  day  he  stood  before  the 
boys  and  girls  of  a  school  and  soon  began  to 
weep.  One  boy  whispered  to  his  comrade  : 
"What's  that  old  'duffer'  crying  about?" 
The  other  boy  replied :  "  Keep  still ;  if  you 
had  as  little  to  say  as  he  has  you  would  cry 
too." 

Hard  work  is  a  necessity  with  the  Sunday- 
school  teacher.  In  the  depths  of  the  sea  are 
precious  jewels,  but  the  hand  of  the  sluggard 
can  never  gather  them.  In  the  heart  of  the 
mountains  are  veins  of  silver  and  threads  of 
gold,  but  the  hand  of  the  lazy  man  can  never 
coin  them.  In  the  prairie  soil  are  harvests  of 
wealth,  but  the  indolent  man  can  never  reap 
them.  In  the  avenues  of  trade  are  rich  re- 
wards, but  the  shiftless  man  can  never  grasp 
them.  In  the  mine  of  knowledge  are  jewels 
of  celestial  thought,  but  the  lazy  man  can 


The  Teacher's  Task  and  Reward      65 

never  bedeck  his  brow  with  such  diadems. 
It  is  toil  that  gathers  the  emeralds  of  the  sea, 
coins  the  treasures  of  the  n^ountains,  reaps 
the  glowing  harvests,  sends  pulsing  commerce 
on  its  daily  rounds,  and  draws  forth  the 
treasure  from  the  mine  of  knowledge.  It 
is  toil  that  drives  the  vessel  o'er  the  sea, 
points  the  telescope  to  the  stars,  and  har- 
nesses the  quivering  forces  of  the  universe. 
It  is  toil  that  makes  the  poem  charm,  the 
harps  of  music  ring,  the  canvas  glow,  the 
marble  speak,  and  the  shuttle  hum.  And  it 
is  patient,  persistent  searching  that  brings  to 
the  possession  of  the  teacher  many  a  precious 
jewel  from  God's  inexhaustible  mine.  And 
we  say  with  Carlyle  :  "  All  true  labour  is  di- 
vine, sweat  of  the  brow,  then  up  to  sweat 
of  the  brain,  up  to  sweat  of  the  heart.  This 
includes  all  Kepler  calculations,  all  Newton 
meditations,  all  sciences,  all  spoken  epics, 
all  acted  heroisms  up  to  that  final  agony  of 
the  Garden,  which  all  men  call  divine."  ^ 

The  teacher  must  have  patience.  The 
harvest  often  seems  long  in  coming.  A  boy 
of  ten  years  of  age  heard  Wilbur  Fisk  speak 
on  the  subject  of  education,  and  such  an  im- 
pression was  made  upon  the  boy's  mind  that 
he  determined  that,  so  far  as  help  might  lie 

*  "  Past  and  Present." 


66      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

in  his  power,  the  cause  of  Christian  education 
should  not  lack  funds.  That  boy  was  Mr. 
Rich,  who  in  later  years  gave  money  for  the 
founding  of  Boston  University.  Though  Dr. 
Fisk  did  not  know  it,  Boston  University 
started  in  that  speech  when  the  ten-year-old 
boy  was  impressed. 

Bishop  Oldham  ^  tells  of  a  boy  who  was 
taken  to  a  meeting  when  seven  years  old. 
He  sat  on  a  front  seat,  and  was  uninterested 
until  a  man  came  into  the  pulpit  who  took 
down  some  charts.  The  man  began  to  talk 
about  foreign  missions.  The  speaker  put 
before  the  child's  absorbed  gaze  a  picture, 
and  he  saw  the  great  circle  of  dead  black, 
and  in  the  middle  of  the  circle  there  was  a 
small  white  spot.  The  speaker  then  asked  : 
"  Do  you  know  what  that  black  circle  means, 
and  do  you  know  what  that  white  spot 
means  ?  That  black  circle  represents  the 
millions  who  are  living  in  the  night  of  pagan- 
ism, and  that  little  white  spot  is  the  little 
handful  of  Christians  that  are  to  be  found  in 
pagan  lands."  Sixty-nine  years  after  that 
night  that  boy  who  had  become  an  old  man 
said  :  **  I  never  forgot  that,  and  when  I  went 
home  I  knelt  down  and  said  the  prayers  my 

1  lu   address   on  "  Tlie   Value   of  the  Teaching  of  Foreign 
Missions  in  the  Sunday-schools." 


The  Teacher's  Task  and  Reward      67 

mother  taught  me,  and  then  I  a^ded  this  on 
my  own  account,  '  Oh,  Lord,  let  me  get  to  be 
a  big  man,  and  I  will  work  to  make  that 
white  spot  a  little  larger,  that  there  may  be 
not  so  much  black,  and  that  there  may  be  a 
little  more  white.'  " 

A  few  years  ago  the  church  in  the  city  of 
Cleveland,  of  which  that  man  was  a  member, 
held  a  great  missionary  convention,  and  over 
$300,000  was  pledged  at  a  single  session,  and 
the  man  who  had  been  that  little  boy  gave 
one-third  of  it.  That  life  of  splendid  giving 
began  in  the  boy  of  seven. 

Jesus  knew  what  it  was  to  wait.  Beneath 
the  rough  exterior  of  Peter,  Jesus  saw  the 
possibility  of  a  saint.  Under  the  homely 
outer  garb  of  John,  the  fisherman,  Jesus  saw 
a  seraphic  soul  in  embryo.  If  Jesus  could 
see  apostles  in  fishermen,  it  ought  not  to  be 
hard  for  us  to  see  saints,  heroes,  and  prophets 
of  God  in  the  boys  and  girls  of  our  Sunday- 
schools. 

The  following  incident  shows  the  reward 
of  patience.  A  young  woman  in  a  town  in 
England  asked  for  a  Sunday-school  class. 
There  was  no  vacancy  in  the  corps  of  teach- 
ers, but  she  was  told  that  if  she  wanted  to 
gather  up  a  class  of  boys  from  the  street  and 
from  neglected  homes  she  could  have  a  place 


68      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

to  teach  them.  A  number  of  poor,  ragged  fel- 
lows were  brought  together,  among  them  one 
wretched  looking  lad  called  Bob. 

The  superintendent  soon  invited  the  class 
to  his  home,  and  each  boy  received  a  new 
suit  of  clothes.  Bob  attended  the  school  for 
two  or  three  weeks  and  then  dropped  out. 
His  suit  was  ruined,  but  the  generosity  and 
faith  of  the  superintendent  supplied  another 
suit.  That  second  suit  soon  shared  the  same 
fate.  The  teacher  lost  heart  and  decided  to 
give  him  up.  But  the  superintendent  said : 
"  Please  don't  do  that ;  I  am  sure  there  is 
something  good  in  Bob.  Try  him  once 
more.  I'll  give  him  a  third  suit  of  clothes  if 
he'll  promise  to  attend  Sunday-school." 
Bob's  waywardness  had  met  more  than  a 
match  in  that  superintendent.  Bob  was 
soon  a  changed  boy.  He  became  an  earnest 
seeker  after  truth.  He  joined  the  church  and 
soon  took  a  class  himself.  He  later  studied 
for  the  ministry.  The  world  knows  Bob  now 
as  Dr.  Robert  Morrison,  who  became  the 
founder  of  Protestant  missions  in  China,  and 
translated  the  Bible  for  one-quarter  of  the 
human  race.  Patience  won,  and  had  its  re- 
ward. 

The  teacher  must  have  enthusiasm  for  his 
work.     There  are  facts  enough  to  create  this 


The  Teacher's  Task  and  Reward      69 

enthusiasm.  You  are  a  builder  of  civiliza- 
tion if  you  are  training  a  child.  Let  the 
teacher  remember  that  "childhood  is  the 
batde-ground  of  the  kingdom."  Let  him  re- 
call the  words  of  Dr.  Goodell :  "  He  who 
builds  the  church  of  Christ  must  save  the 
children.  If  we  save  the  children  we  save 
the  world.  The  world  is  most  easily  and  ef- 
fectively saved  in  childhood.  Life  and  death 
are  in  the  training  of  children."  ^ 

Leschetiszky,  the  teacher  of  Paderewski,  is 
said  never  to  be  satisfied  until  a  pupil  has 
expressed  "  all  the  sentiment,  colour,  warmth, 
vigour,  and  fire  of  his  nature  in  his  execution." 
He  will  say  to  a  student :  "  Your  fingers  run 
over  the  keys  and  say  nothing.  They  are 
like  icicles.  Fill  them  with  love,  with  sym- 
pathy ! "  The  teacher  must  fill  his  task  with 
love,  with  sympathy,  with  enthusiasm. 

You  see  the  botanist  fall  in  love  with  his 
science.  He  visits  the  flowers  in  their  bloom, 
and  looks  upon  their  gentle  beauty,  so  soft 
and  delicate,  that  these  perfumed  thoughts  of 
God  might  well  be  the  work  of  angel  fingers. 
Whether  he  is  on  the  wild  mountain  or  in 
the  fruitful  valley,  on  the  lowly  plain  or  on 
the  storm-sw^ept  hills,  in  northern  climes  or 
under  sultry  suns,  in  his  own  home-yard  or 

1 "  How  to  Build  a  Church." 


70      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

by  a  distant  shore,  his  eye  is  attentive  to  na- 
ture's charms  for  he  is  in  love  with  botany. 

Here  is  the  geologist  enamoured  of  his  work. 
He  delves  through  the  crust  of  the  earth, 
reading  the  hieroglyphics  of  God  on  the 
rocks,  and  the  fossil  leaves  become  tongues 
of  flame,  telling  the  story  of  a  storm-swept 
world.  Thus  he  goes  down  from  stratum  to 
stratum,  descending  the  ladder  of  creation, 
and  as  he  beholds  the  sepulchre  of  the  ages 
his  heart  throbs  and  thrills,  for  he  is  in  love 
with  geology. 

The  astronomer  is  charmed  with  his  match- 
less science.  It  enamours  his  heart  and  brain. 
His  study  unfolds  the  beauties  and  wonders 
of  creation  before  his  enraptured  gaze.  With 
enchanted  soul  he  labours  on  far  into  the 
night,  and  while  others  sleep  he  follows  his 
chosen  science  on  the  highways  of  creation 
until  the  sun  with  his  diamond  chariot  unbars 
the  gates  of  the  east  and  puts  out  the  star- 
candles  of  the  night.  He  is  in  love  with  as- 
tronomy. 

The  musician  becomes  enthusiastic  as  the 
fair  Maid  of  Music  charms  his  heart  and  en- 
lists his  powers.  He  gives  his  life  in  full  and 
sacred  devotion  to  her.  Years  pass.  At  last 
he  is  before  an  expectant  multitude.  They 
will  not  be  disappointed,  for  music  is  in  his 


The  Teacher's  Task  and  Reward      71 

soul.  The  fibres  of  his  being  are  attuned  to 
the  laws  of  harmony.  He  begins  to  play. 
The  accordant  notes  float  out  in  waves  of 
rippling  music.  The  sweet  cadence  changes 
to  solemn  strains,  the  solemn  strains  to 
sweeping  melody,  the  sweeping  melody  be- 
comes a  tide  of  harmony,  and  the  perform- 
ance closes  amid  the  thrilling  raptures  that 
almost  stop  the  tide  of  life.  Why  ?  Because 
the  man  is  in  love  with  music. 

Oh,  Sunday-school  teacher  1  get  in  love 
with  your  work.  To  work  with  God  upon  a 
human  soul  is  the  divinest  of  tasks.  If  the 
botanist  can  spend  a  life  with  eager  zeal  in 
the  study  of  the  flowers ;  if  the  geologist  can 
have  his  soul  set  on  fire  as  he  reads  the 
record  in  the  rocks ;  if  the  astronomer  can 
have  his  heart  grow  hot  as  he  follows  in  the 
paths  of  the  stars,  and  weighs  worlds  in  the 
balances  of  his  thought ;  if  the  musician  can 
become  so  enamoured  of  his  work  that  he 
will  labour  long  and  hard  at  his  task  ;  what 
shall  we  say  of  the  holy  zeal  that  should  pos- 
sess the  soul  of  the  teacher  who  deals  with 
immortal  spirits  ?  He  who  seeks  to  lift  be- 
fore the  scholar  the  noblest  ideals  and  to  fill 
the  heart  with  the  purest  hopes,  and  to  help 
him  seek  the  divinest  truth,  and  to  fill  his 
life  with  a  triumphant  song,  and  to  fashion 


72      The  Work,  of  the  Sunday-School 

the  soul  for  eternal  life,  must  have  his  heart 
melt  in  mercy,  beat  with  compassion,  and 
glow  with  sublime  enthusiasm.  "  The  work 
is  great ;  the  time  is  short ;  the  Master  is  ur- 
gent." 

3.  The  Teacher' s  Power.  Ideals  determine 
destiny.  They  mould  the  destiny  of  nations 
as  well  as  of  individuals.  The  Israelites  of 
old  dwelt  upon  the  rugged  highlands,  while 
their  Philistine  neighbours  lived  on  the  more 
fertile  lowlands  by  the  sea.  The  Hebrews 
had  little  traffic  with  the  outlying  nations, 
but  their  neighbours  eagerly  sought  com- 
merce with  other  lands.  Israel's  isolation 
amid  the  rocks  and  barren  hills  enabled  her 
to  keep,  to  a  remarkable  degree,  the  ideals  of 
God  in  her  heart.  She  was  not  always  true 
to  them,  but  her  prophets  kept  those  ideals 
swinging  before  her  gaze,  and  the  holy  fires 
did  not  go  out  entirely  upon  her  altars.  Her 
neighbours  have  left  little  trace  in  history, 
but  that  Hebrew  civilization  influences  the 
nations,  and  throbs  in  our  modern  life.  This 
is  a  result  of  a  difference  in  ideals  kept  before 
those  nations. 

The  ideals  we  hold  before  the  young  fashion 
character.  Parents  are  the  first  priests  of 
God  to  the  child,  but  alas !  how  many  forfeit 
the    holy    opportunity,   and   some   Sunday- 


The  Teacher's  Task  and  Reward      73 

school  teacher  becomes  the  real  priest  of  God 
to  many  a  youth. 

The  teacher  moulds  the  life  of  the  scholar 
because  he  comes  to  believe  in  the  teacher  ; 
the  teacher  becomes  an  ideal.  Faith  is  the 
medium  through  which  personal  influence 
can  operate.  The  man  in  whom  you  have  no 
confidence  does  not  mould  you.  It  is  the 
man  whom  you  trust  who  dominates  you, 
and  binds  you  to  his  ideals.  Here  is  a  man 
whose  hands  you  know  are  stained  with  sin, 
his  thoughts  are  unclean,  his  heart  is  corrupt. 
He  does  not  mould  your  character,  he  does 
not  fashion  your  life,  he  does  not  control  your 
thought.  You  have  no  faith  in  him.  But 
here  is  another  man  whose  hands  are  clean. 
His  feet  walk  in  the  way  of  virtue,  his  head 
is  in  the  light,  his  heart  is  true,  his  purposes 
are  pure,  his  life  is  radiant.  You  believe  in 
him  and  hence  he  helps  to  mould  you,  and 
draws  you  towards  his  ideals.  You  surren- 
der to  him  because  you  believe  in  him. 

The  author  of  "The  World  Beautiful" 
says  :  "  It  is  a  law  of  science  that  sound  can- 
not travel  through  a  vacuum ;  the  sound  waves 
require  the  atmospheric  conditions  for  their 
vibration  ;  and  this  may  serve  as  an  analogy 
that  through  the  spiritual  vacuum  made  by 
unfaith  no  divine  aid  can  come."     And  in  our 


74      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

relation  to  one  another  faith  is  a  necessary 
medium  through  which  personal  influence 
and  moulding  power  may  be  communicated. 
With  a  true  Sunday-school  teacher  this 
medium  of  faith  and  confidence  becomes  a 
reality.  Scholars  come  to  look  upon  the 
teacher  as  an  ideal.  At  the  Tenth  Interna- 
tional Sunday-school  Convention  held  at 
Denver  in  1902,  one  speaker  told  of  a  young 
woman  who  was  very  successful  as  the 
teacher  of  a  class  of  thirty  young  men.  One 
day  this  teacher  asked  each  member  of  her 
class  to  write  upon  a  slip  of  paper  one  reason 
why  he  came  to  Sunday-school.  Many  of 
the  answers  received  are  very  suggestive  and 
speak  to  us  of  the  mighty  moulding  power 
that  is  wielded  by  the  loyal  and  consecrated 
Sunday-school  teacher.  Here  are  some  of 
the  answers  she  received  : 

"  You  have  faith  in  young  men." 
"  You  are  interested  in  us,  and  in  what  we 
do." 

"  We  know  you  will  be  at  Sunday-school." 

"  You  know  us  on  the  street." 

"  We  believe  in  your  prayers." 

"  You  welcome  us  to  your  home." 

'*  You  understand  young  men." 

"  We  know  you  are  a  Christian." 

"  You  always  come  prepared." 


The  Teacher's  Task  and  Reward      75 

"  You  don't  think  we  are  all  bad." 

"  You  live  as  you  teach." 

Those  young  men  believed  in  that  teacher, 
and  their  faith  in  her  became  a  medium 
through  which  a  moulding  power  could  be 
transmitted.  The  very  fact  that  they  came 
to  have  faith  in  her  gave  her  power  to  fashion 
their  lives.  This  influence  one  life  may  ex- 
ert upon  another  gives  solemnity  and  royalty 
to  life.  The  teacher's  nobility  of  character 
helps  to  fashion  the  scholar's  life.  We  are 
slow  to  estimate  the  full  charm  of  goodness, 
and  its  kingly  influence  upon  human  lives. 

When  Cambridge  University  of  England 
sought  a  Professor  of  Sanscrit  a  few  years 
ago  there  were  but  two  candidates.  These 
were  Edward  B.  Cowell  and  a  German.  The 
one  who  relates  the  incident  says  that  the 
German  had  no  special  reputation  in  Eng- 
land. Cowell  knew  the  German  quite  well 
and  sounded  his  praises,  declaring  him  to  be 
eminently  fitted  for  the  place.  But  Cowell 
was  selected.  The  Mohammedan  court  in- 
terpreter to  England  was  so  impressed  with 
the  noble  character  of  Cowell  that  he  said : 
"The  fact  that  Professor  Cowell  is  a  Chris- 
tian makes  it  seem  probable  that  Christianity 
is  true."  That  was  the  tribute  the  Moham- 
medan paid  to  goodness. 


7 6      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

Test  many  of  the  great  names  in  history 
with  the  measuring  line  of  goodness  and 
alas !  how  soon  they  sink  into  the  realm  of 
dwarfdom,  and  humble  ones  leap  into  splen- 
dour. Try  this  test  and  Alexander  is  pulled 
from  his  pedestal  and  humble  Dorcas  mounts 
the  throne  ;  Nebuchadnezzar  retires  into  the 
shadow  and  heroic  Daniel  assumes  the 
crown ;  Herod  fades  and  shrivels  and  John 
the  Baptist  steps  forth  with  the  tread  of  a 
king ;  the  vain  pomp  and  glory  of  men  are 
eclipsed,  while  humble  devoted  goodness  ap- 
pears like  a  crowned  seraph  and  a  singing 
angel.  Oh,  teacher !  you  mould  by  the 
power  of  goodness. 

The  teacher  moulds  the  scholar  by  his 
friendship  and  love.  No  one  can  worthily 
sing  the  lyric  of  friendship.  In  the  friend- 
ship of  Jonathan,  the  prince,  and  of  David, 
the  shepherd  boy,  we  see  a  heart  affinity,  a 
marriage  of  souls.  In  the  divine  glow  of 
that  holy  friendship  Jonathan  forgot  that  he 
was  heir  to  the  throne.  When  David  re- 
ceived the  homage  of  the  people  no  jealousy 
kindled  in  Jonathan's  bosom.  David's  kingly 
heart  responded  to  Jonathan's  princely  soul. 
The  king's  son  was  ready  to  exalt  the  shep- 
herd boy  to  the  throne.  Here  is  the  power 
of  human  friendship  at  its  noontide.     And  in 


The  Teacher's  Task  and  Reward      77 

the  friendship  between  the  teacher  and  the 
members  of  his  class  there  may  be  a  heavenly 
charm  that  will  make  the  teacher's  work  a 
holy  task  and  freight  it  with  moulding 
power. 

In  a  mission  school  where  sacred  friend- 
ship had  sprung  up  between  teacher  and 
scholar  when  a  poor  little  girl  of  one  of  the 
classes  was  told  that  she  could  not  live  long, 
she  said  tenderly:  "Mother,  don't  tell  my 
teacher  I  am  dead  ;  for  it  will  break  her  heart 
to  know  it." 

No  one  can  measure  the  power  of  love  in 
life.  You  remember  the  infernal  conspiracy 
that  was  planned  for  the  destruction  of  Drey- 
fus. You  know  how  he  was  taken  four  thou- 
sand miles  away  from  home  and  put  on 
Devil's  Island.  There  under  a  tropical  sun 
he  suffered.  The  heat  was  intense.  It  was 
one  hundred  and  thirty  degrees  in  the  shade. 
He  was  shut  up  in  a  pen.  He  could  see  but 
a  small  patch  of  sky.  No  grand  vision  even 
of  the  heavens  was  afforded  him.  He  slept 
on  a  hard  cot.  The  cot  swarmed  with  ver- 
min. He  was  told  that  his  wife  had  become 
untrue  to  him,  that  his  children  had  deserted 
him,  and  that  his  friends  had  forsaken  him. 
After  his  release  when  asked  what  it  was  that 
sustained  him  amid  the  withering  storm  he 


78      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

said  :  "  I  knew  that  four  thousand  miles  away 
there  was  a  Utile  woman  who  loved  me." 
May  the  teacher  know  that  through  friend- 
ship, and  sympathy,  and  love  for  his  scholars 
he  may  bring  constant  inspiration  into  their 
lives. 

The  teacher  often  moulds  a  life  through 
the  avenue  of  memory.  The  awakening 
power  of  memory  is  an  asset  in  the  moral 
world.  Dr.  J.  G.  K.  McClure  relates  how  a 
man  of  eighty  years  of  age  was  lying  one 
summer  day  beneath  a  tree.  It  was  Sunday. 
As  he  lay  there  a  bee  flew  among  the  clover 
and  began  its  buzzing.  This  attracted  his 
attention.  As  he  listened  to  it  the  memory 
of  a  day  more  than  sixty  years  in  the  past 
came  back  to  him.  He  remembered  how  the 
bees  buzzed  in  the  churchyard  when  he  was 
a  boy.  He  remembered  how  they  buzzed  on 
a  special  day  when  a  friend  sat  down  beside 
him  among  the  clover  and  asked  him  to  be 
true  to  his  highest  ideals  of  life,  and  how  he 
trifled  with  conscience  that  day  and  was  dis- 
loyal to  it.  He  was  a  youth  in  England 
then,  and  now  he  is  an  old  man  in  America. 
But  as  memory  called  up  the  past,  and  he 
heard  again  the  earnest  words  of  his  friend, 
those  words  came  to  him  with  great  force, 
and  lying  there  beneath  the  tree  he  yielded 


The  Teacher's  Task  and  Reward      79 

to  their  influence  and  consecrated  himself  to 
all  those  words  sought.  A  newly  awakened 
memory  stirred  the  soul  of  that  man  and 
brought  him  to  a  decision  for  Christ. 

I  see  in  vision  a  young  man  who  has  gone 
away  from  home  and  early  companions.  He 
has  strayed  into  forbidden  paths.  One  night 
he  is  out  on  the  lonely  plains.  His  compan- 
ion sickens  and  dies.  He  is  left  alone.  A 
chill  smites  his  heart.  He  looks  up  at  the 
silent  stars.  Memory  awakes.  More  sv/iftly 
than  run  the  shuttles  of  the  loom  does  his 
mind  travel  across  half  a  continent  back  to 
other  scenes  and  to  other  days.  The  mem- 
ory of  the  distant  past  burns  like  a  coal  of 
fire  in  his  soul.  He  sees  again  the  home 
where  his  pillow  at  night  was  as  soft  as  love 
could  make  it,  and  where  his  mother's  kisses 
hung  like  jewels  upon  his  cheek.  Then 
memory  leads  him  into  the  Sunday-school 
where  a  faithful  teacher  pointed  to  the  way  of 
Life,  and  the  words  of  Scripture  he  learned  in 
that  Sunday-school  come  to  mind :  "  Come 
unto  Me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  "  For  God 
so  loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His  only 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in 
Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting 
life."     And  he  hears  again  the  heart-yearn- 


8o      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

ing  appeal  of  the  Sunday-school  teacher  that 
he  give  his  heart  to  Christ.  And  there 
where  only  the  stars  look  down,  and  with  the 
hush  of  the  Eternal  upon  his  spirit  he  sobs 
out  his  prayer  :  "  God  be  meriful  to  me  a  sin- 
ner." Thus  the  memory  of  a  faithful  teacher 
helps  to  bring  him  to  God.  The  bread  cast 
upon  the  waters  has  been  found  after  many 
days.  The  seed  sown,  possibly  amid  weep- 
ing, brings  forth  a  joyful  harvest. 

A  sainted  missionary  thinking  of  his  work 
said  :  "  I  would  not  exchange  my  place  for  a 
throne."  Oh,  Sunday-school  teacher !  repine 
not,  stay  at  your  task,  for  you  are  a  priest  of 
God,  and  by  your  moulding  influence  upon 
young  life  you  build  for  God  and  eternity. 

4.  The  Teacher'' s  Reivard.  We  often  hear 
of  the  problems,  of  the  tasks,  of  the  trials, 
and  of  the  discouragements  of  the  Sunday- 
school  teacher.  We  would  now  say  a  word 
concerning  his  reward. 

(i)  The  development  of  the  teacher' s  own 
life.  One  may  congratulate  himself  when  he 
escapes  taking  a  class  in  the  Sunday-school. 
But  it  is  no  occasion  for  congratulation,  be- 
cause he  has  allowed  to  pass  a  rare  oppor- 
tunity for  his  own  highest  development. 
The  church  had  been  likened  unto  a  "box  of 
unlighted  candles,"  and  when  a  person  who 


The  Teacher's  Task  and  Reward      81 

has  ability  to  teach  turns  away  from  the  op- 
portunity, or  shirks  the  responsibihty,  his  Hfe 
is  like  the  "  unlighted  candle." 

Because  man  has  not  answered  the  call  to 
use  his  powers,  how  many  a  carpenter's  ham- 
mer has  never  swung,  how  many  a  forge  has 
never  glowed,  how  many  a  weaver's  shuttle 
has  never  hummed,  how  many  a  field  has 
never  been  tilled,  how  many  a  pulpit  has 
never  rung  out  with  its  sacred  eloquence, 
how  many  an  artist  has  never  painted  a  pic- 
ture, how  many  a  sculptor  has  never  lifted  a 
chisel,  how  many  a  poet  has  never  sung  the 
song  of  his  soul,  and  how  many  a  Sunday- 
school  class  has  gone  teacherless  because  the 
power  lodged  within  human  hearts  and 
brains  has  not  been  perfectly  consecrated  to 
God  and  to  His  service !  Carlyle  says : 
"For  a  man  to  die  who  might  have  been 
wise  and  was  not ;  this,  I  call  a  tragedy." 
For  one  to  have  the  gift  and  the  opportunity 
for  teaching,  and  then  refuse  to  teach  is  pa- 
thetic beyond  the  compass  of  words  to  ex- 
press. 

The  reward  of  self-development  comes  to 
the  teacher  through  several  channels.  He 
must  study  the  child,  he  must  know  whom 
he  is  to  teach.  This  leads  him  into  the  realm 
of   psychology.      New    fields   of   knowledge 


82      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

open  before  the  progressive  teacher.  In  his 
eagerness  for  preparation  for  his  class  there 
comes  the  expansion  of  his  own  thought-life. 

The  teacher  must  know  how  to  teach.  We 
have  noted  in  a  previous  chapter  that  teach- 
ing is  "causing  another  to  know,"  so  the 
teacher  must  study  this  fine  art.  He  must 
know  how  to  prepare  a  lesson,  how  to  find 
"  the  point  of  contact,"  how  to  hold  the  at- 
tention, and  how  to  impress  the  truth  of  the 
lesson  upon  the  heart  and  mind  of  the 
scholar. 

The  teacher  must  know  what  to  teach,  and 
this  leads  him  into  a  discriminative  and  ap- 
preciative study  of  the  Bible.  There  is  no 
limit  to  the  wealth  that  may  come  to  him 
from  this  wondrous  mine. 

The  teacher  learns  that  he  must  illustrate 
in  his  life  what  he  teaches,  for  "  the  teacher's 
life  is  the  life  of  his  teaching."  Here  is  his 
call  to  translate  into  a  living  epistle  the  Sun- 
day-school lesson  he  would  teach.  Thus  his 
work  beckons  him  to  lofty  accomplishment 
on  the  plane  of  living.  The  call  to  the  heights 
in  adorning  the  Gospel  by  his  life  is  a  portion 
of  the  teacher's  reward. 

(2)  To  see  the  developmcjit  of  the  scholar 
is  a  part  of  the  teacher's  reward.  If  the 
greatest  work  of  life  is  to  grow  a  soul,  then 


The  Teacher's  I'ask  and  Reward      83 

to  see  a  soul  expand  and  reach  out  and  up 
after  truth  must  be  a  thrilHng  sight  to  any- 
true  teacher. 

The  growth  of  a  tree  is  full  of  interest. 
We  see  the  acorn  thrust  into  the  earth.  It 
is  instinct  with  life;  it  is  packed  power. 
Nature  whispers  to  its  heart.  Its  embryo 
quickens.  What  vital  energy  is  there  1  It 
bursts  its  confining  walls.  Spring  rains  and 
summer  suns  coax  it  upward.  Through  the 
crust  of  the  earth  it  comes.  It  begins  its 
life-battle.  Its  leaves  spread  to  catch  the 
dews  of  heaven.  Its  rootlets  delve  into  the 
earth  and  search  for  food.  It  feeds,  absorbs, 
assimilates,  and  grows.  It  is  trampled  upon. 
The  winds  cuff  it,  but  it  gathers  strength.  A 
century  passes.  Its  roots  are  anchored  in 
the  soil  and  in  the  clefts  of  the  rock.  The 
superstructure  is  a  giant.  Its  strong  arms 
sway  to  and  fro  on  the  bosom  of  the  wind. 
It  tosses  its  kingly  head  from  side  to  side 
when  in  the  grip  of  the  storm  and  buffeted 
by  the  blast.  The  winds  of  God  make  music 
in  its  branches  like  ^olian  harps.  But  the 
interest  in  the  growth  of  a  tree  is  poor  and 
paltry  indeed  in  comparison  to  the  interest  in 
the  development  of  a  human  soul. 

If  the  sculptor's  heart  throbs  with  joy  as 
he  sees  the  image  come  forth  to  perfection  of 


84      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

symmetry  and  grace  ;  if  the  painter's  soul 
burns  with  zeal  as  his  picture  is  developed ; 
then  surely  the  teacher's  spirit  may  glow 
with  holy  rapture  as  he  sees  the  tendrils  of 
the  soul  reach  up  and  begin  to  cling  to  God. 

This  reward  of  seeing  the  development  of 
the  scholar  may  not  come  largely  during  the 
period  of  the  teaching.  The  teacher  must 
sometimes  wait  long  years  before  the  crown 
of  reward  is  received. 

Dr.  H.  Clay  Trumbull  tells  how  one  of  his 
Sunday-school  teachers  near  the  close  of  the 
lesson  period  would  lay  his  hand  tenderly 
on  a  boy  and  say  :  "  My  dear  boy,  I  do  wish 
you  would  love  Jesus  and  give  Him  your 
whole  heart."  ^  The  years  sped  away,  but 
Dr.  Trumbull  declares  that  the  influence  of 
that  persistent  pleader  remained  fresh  and 
potent. 

(3)  Another  source  of  reward  is  the  grati- 
tude of  the  scholars.  Ask  people  in  a  public 
meeting  what  influence  they  consider  was 
the  most  potent  in  leading  them  to  Christ, 
and  the  meeting  will  not  progress  far  before 
some  one  will  arise  to  bless  the  name  and 
memory  of  a  faithful  Sunday-school  teacher. 
It  is  well  for  the  teacher  to  be  aware  of  this 
appreciation,  for  it  nerves  the  arm  and  quick- 

• "  Teaching  and  Teachers,"  p.  254. 


The  Teacher's  Task,  and  Reward      85 

ens  the  pulse  to  know  that  your  devotion 
will  not  be  forgotten. 

A  mother  came  to  the  teacher  of  her  little 
boy  and  said :  "  John  was  playing  on  the 
floor  this  afternoon,  and  all  at  once  he 
stopped  and  watched  me,  and  then  said : 
'  Mama,  I  wish  you  were  as  much  like  Jesus 
as  my  teacher  is.'  "  ^ 

You  have  seen  the  sun  moving  on  in  his 
meridian  strength,  whispering  to  the  seeds, 
and  summoningnature  to  an  abundant  harvest, 
and  bathing  the  world  in  splendour  ;  but  there 
is  no  light  on  land  or  sea  like  the  glow  that 
beams  in  the  face  of  one  you  have  blessed 
and  cheered.  You  have  seen  emerald  jewels 
from  the  sea,  and  sparkling  diamonds  that 
flashed  on  the  neck  of  beauty,  but  you  never 
saw  any  jewels  half  so  rich  and  rare  as  the 
tear-jewels  of  gratitude  that  trickled  down 
the  cheeks  of  those  you  led  in  the  way  of 
peace.  You  have  seen  flowers  fresh  with  the 
breath  of  summer  and  wet  with  the  dews  of 
morn,  but  you  never  saw  any  flowers  so 
beautiful  as  the  roses  that  bloomed  upon  the 
cheeks  of  orphans  you  made  sing  for  joy. 
Gratitude  is  a  part  of  the  reward  of  the 
teacher. 

1  Antoinette  AbernethJ^  Lamoreaux,  "  The  Unfolding  Life," 
P-  94- 


86      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

Real  service  to  the  world  is  receiving 
recognition  as  never  before.  The  ancients 
may  deify  the  man  who  could  turn  a  river 
out  of  its  course  or  slay  a  hydra-headed 
monster ;  Greece  may  crown  the  wrestler 
and  the  charioteer ;  old-time  chivalry  may 
laurel  the  grim  ruler  who  could  enslave  an 
empire  ;  but  we  are  coming  to  honour  people 
who  serve  humanityc  For  almost  one  hun- 
dred years  Napoleon  has  stood  first  in  the 
lists  of  the  honoured  of  France,  but  recently 
a  new  list  of  noble  Frenchmen  was  made, 
and  Pasteur  was  at  the  top.  We  honour  the 
artist  who  gives  us  a  beautiful  and  suggestive 
picture,  rather  than  an  Alexander  who  rears 
new  dynasties  amid  the  fragments  of  oriental 
empires.  We  laud  the  sculptor  who  sum- 
mons the  angel  from  the  block  of  marble, 
rather  than  the  man  who  crushes  his  foes  by 
force  of  arms.  We  praise  the  man  who  sings 
the  songs  of  freedom,  rather  than  a  Hannibal 
who  scales  the  Alps  and  rushes  down  their 
icy  slopes  to  knock  at  the  gates  of  Rome. 
We  exalt  the  man  who  heralds  a  great  reform 
and  quenches  with  his  shield  of  faith  the  iire- 
tipped  darts  of  opposition,  rather  than  a 
Napoleon  who  rocks  thrones  and  empires. 
And  we  do  well  to  honour  the  teachers  who 
allow  large  drafts  upon  mind  and  heart  for 


The  Teacher's  Task  and  Reward      87 

the  welfare  of  others,  and  whom  the  Jews 
two  thousand  years  ago  called :  "  the  true 
guardians  of  the  city." 

(4)  But  more  than  the  rewards  already 
enumerated  is  the  reward  of  divine  approval. 
The  measure  of  your  service  is  the  measure 
of  your  reward.  Better  be  the  humblest 
worker  in  the  vineyard  of  humanity  than  the 
most  magnetic  leader  who  cares  naught  for 
the  happiness  of  mankind.  Better  be  a 
Dorcas  labouring  with  needle  and  thread  to 
clothe  the  orphans  and  the  poor,  than  the 
richest  queen  whose  heart  is  far  removed 
from  sympathy  and  tears.  Better  be  a 
Florence  Nightingale  ministering  to  the  sick, 
than  a  golden-mouthed  orator  whose  words 
blast  rather  than  brighten  the  eternal  hopes 
of  man.  Better  be  a  Shaftesbury  sheltering 
the  outcast  waifs,  or  a  Ruskin  with  your 
heart  upon  the  altar  of  humanity,  than  an 
absolute  king  upon  a  throne  of  gold.  Better 
dry  the  tears  of  sorrow,  hush  the  cry  of  pain, 
and  lessen  the  miseries  of  mankind  than 
wield  a  rod  of  iron.  Better  be  a  humble 
teacher  in  the  Sunday-school  training  the 
tendrils  of  the  heart  to  twine  about  God  and 
our  redeeming  Lord,  than  cause  thrones  to 
collapse  by  the  waving  of  a  selfish  sceptre. 

The  divine  Master  said  :  '*  He  that  would 


88      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

be  greatest,  let  him  be  servant  of  all."  In 
the  light  of  this  dictum,  Moses  is  greater  than 
Pharaoh,  Elijah  than  Ahab,  John  the  Baptist 
than  Herod,  Paul  than  Nero,  Savonarola 
than  Lorenzo,  Jenner  than  George  III,  Lin- 
coln than  Rothschild,  and  Christ  the  servant 
than  Croesus  the  king. 

Selfishness  shrivels  the  soul.  This  is  God's 
law.  A  few  years  ago  the  writer  visited  the 
ruins  of  Pompeii.  In  the  museum  close  by 
are  many  bodies  that  have  been  taken  from 
the  ruins  of  the  buried  city.  One  skeleton 
was  found  with  the  fingers  clutched  about  a 
quantity  of  gold.  Think  of  the  madness  of 
the  man  trusting  in  gold  on  that  awful  day, 
when  the  light  melted  out  of  the  sky,  when 
deep  and  massy  clouds  hung  over  Vesuvius, 
when  fiend-like  flames  leaped  from  the  vol- 
cano's crater,  when  the  gloomy  caverns 
groaned,  when  the  rumbling  sounds  echoed 
in  the  hidden  clefts  of  the  rock,  when  vege- 
tation shrivelled  under  the  consuming  breath 
of  heated,  foul  and  vaporous  air,  when  the 
agents  of  terror  and  death  were  omnipresent, 
when  hope  perished  and  despair  revelled  and 
reigned,  when  the  mountain,  roused  like  a 
giant  from  the  sleep  of  years,  rocked,  and 
quivered,  and  reeled,  when  fiery  cataracts  and 
demon  floods  leaped  onward,  when  avalanches 


The  Teacher's  Task  and  Reward      89 

of  fire  steamed,  and  smoked,  and  writhed, 
and  went  hissing  into  the  sea,  and  the  groan- 
ing waves  rolled  back  their  lava-scorched 
lips,  when  all  the  horrors  of  ghastly  night, 
and  of  more  ghastly  death  rushed  on  the 
noon,  yet  even  then,  this  man  in  his  madness 
trusted  in  glittering  gold,  gone  mad  over 
money,  insane  through  selfishness. 

There  is  a  gentle  voice  that  calls  a  man 
away  from  a  life  of  selfishness  to  a  life  of 
service.  That  voice  often  comes  as  gently 
as  the  raindrops  fall  upon  a  summer  sea,  as 
softly  as  the  light  kisses  the  petals  of  the  rose. 
It  calls  the  heart  out  in  new  aspirations  and 
aims  as  gently  as  nature  summons  the  flower 
from  the  seed,  or  the  oak  from  its  acorn  cup. 
This  appeal  for  one  to  enter  the  life  of  help- 
fulness and  service  acts  as  gently  as  the  sun- 
beam falls  upon  the  iceberg's  frozen  heart, 
as  deftly  as  gravitation  acts  on  matter.  Man 
in  his  selfishness  is  chained  to  the  earth,  he 
is  fettered  to  a  poor,  narrow,  grovelling  life. 
But  this  call  to  service  summons  man  to  a 
higher  place  of  outlook,  to  a  grander  view  of 
life  and  of  the  world.  If  he  heeds  the  call, 
his  eye  will  flash  with  new  fire.  With  new 
pinions  of  hope  and  faith  he  will  mount  to  a 
higher  sphere  and  to  a  freer  realm.  The 
chains  that  once  fettered  him  to  the  sordid, 


90      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

selfish  life  will  be  shattered,  and  he  will  rise 
to  a  clearer  vision  of  the  mountain  peaks  of 
eternal  truth.  Happy,  thrice  happy  the 
person  whom  God  deems  worthy  to  be  called 
to  service  in  the  Sunday-school. 

England  has  her  Westminster  Abbey, 
where  many  of  her  sons  of  fame  are  buried. 
The  United  States  has  her  Hall  of  Fame. 
And  we  must  not  forget  that  God  has  His 
list  of  immortals,  of  whom  He  says :  "  And 
the  teachers  ^  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of 
the  firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many  to 
righteousness  as  the  stars  forever  and  ever." 

•  Daniel  xii.  3,  marginal  reading. 


Ill 

THE  SCHOLAR  WE  TEACH 


"  And  all  thy  children  shall  be  taught  of  the  Lord ;  and  great 
shall  be  the  peace  of  thy  children." — Isaiah. 

"  For  me  increasingly  the  call  of  the  child  is  the  call  of  the 
ascended  Christ  to  my  heart." — G.  Campbell  Morgan. 

"  There  are  some  of  us  eighty  years  old,  who  were  made  dis- 
ciples to  Christ  in  our  childhood." — Justin  liJartyr. 

"  The  Church  of  Christ  will  be  wise  when  it  takes  every  rep- 
resentative of  the  new  generation  at  the  rating  which  our  work 
gives  him,  confirms  his  native  faith,  tells  him  that  now  he  must 
in  childish  ways  do  the  will  of  the  blessed  Master,  and  leads 
him  on  and  up  until  the  impulsive  outgoings  of  the  young  heart 
are  changed  into  deliberate  convictions,  and  fixed  purposes  to 
belong  to  Christ  forever  and  forever," — Bishop  Hughes. 


Ill 

The  Scholar  We  Teach 

LIFE  begins  with  the  sweet  dawn  of 
babyhood.  Soon  the  eyes  look  out 
in  wonderment.  The  hand  is  out- 
stretched to  grasp  the  unknown.  The  babe 
is  a  bundle  of  wonders ;  it  is  a  gem  celestial. 
What  coils  of  strength,  what  potentiality  are 
infolded  there  !  What  mental  majesty,  what 
moral  beauty,  what  spiritual  glory  are  the 
possible  issues  of  this  flash  of  life  from  God  1 
Tennyson  sings :  ^ 

"  The  baby  new  to  earth  and  sky, 

What  time  his  tender  palm  is  prest 
Against  the  circle  of  the  breast, 
Has  never  thought  that  *  this  is  I ' : 

*♦  But  as  he  grows  he  gathers  much. 

And  learns  the  use  of  '  I '  and  '  me,' 
And  finds  '  I  am  not  what  I  see, 
And  other  than  the  things  I  touch.' 

"  So  rounds  he  to  a  separate  mind 

From  whence  clear  memory  may  begin, 
As  through  the  frame  that  binds  him  in 
His  isolation  grows  defined." 

1 "  In  Memoriam,"  Section  XLV. 
93 


94      1  he  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

The  problem  that  interests  both  church 
and  state  is  the  problem  of  the  child.  The 
church  that  cares  best  for  the  children  will 
be,  and  ought  to  be,  the  church  of  the  future. 
The  child  is  rightly  called  "the  battle-ground 
of  the  kingdom."  The  infinite  sacredness  of 
childhood  must  be  profoundly  impressed 
upon  us.  When  a  teacher  approaches  a 
child  he  draws  nigh  "  the  holiest  temple  of 
God." 

We  sing  of  the  children  : 

"  Fresh  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
Into  this  earth-hfe  they  come 
Not  to  abide ;  we  must  guide  them 
Back  to  the  heavenly  home." 

Victor  Hugo  said:  "The  sublimest  song  to 
be  heard  on  earth  is  the  lisping  of  the  human 
soul  on  the  lips  of  children."  The  English 
bard  sings :  "  Heaven  lies  about  us  in  our 
infancy," 

Men  tell  us  that  if  we  want  to  take  the 
world  for  Christ,  we  must  spend  our  mission- 
ary money  and  efforts  upon  the  dominant 
and  conquering  races.  If  there  be  any  wis- 
dom in  that  sentiment,  then  much  more 
readily  should  we  see  the  wisdom  in  the 
Church  spending  her  energy  upon  the  young 
who  will  be  leaders  and  moulders  of  society 


The  Scholar  We  Teach  95 

to-morrow.  Charles  E.  Jefferson  says :  ' '  With 
all  her  follies  and  crimson  stains,  Rome  goes 
on  her  conquering  way  because  she  knows 
the  value  of  a  child." 

Christianity  alone,  of  all  the  religions  of 
the  earth,  glorifies  childhood.  Ruskin  called 
attention  to  the  fact  that  there  are  no  chil- 
dren in  Greek  art,  but  whoever  has  looked 
upon  the  masterpieces  of  Christian  art  knows 
how  childhood  is  honoured  and  glorified. 
Jesus  put  a  child  in  the  midst,  and  the  church 
that  would  take  the  world  must  keep  that 
little  child  where  Jesus  put  him.  Cardinal 
Manning  said :  "  Give  me  the  children  and 
England  shall  be  Catholic  in  twenty  years." 
Let  the  Church  train  and  nurture  the  children 
and  she  will  find  her  shortest  and  surest  way 
to  the  redemption  of  the  world.  The  child 
is  the  key  to  the  problem  of  world  evangeli- 
zation. Childhood  is  the  strategic  time  in 
which  to  win  trophies  for  the  King.  And 
when  we  earnestly  seek  the  children  for  the 
Saviour  we  are  very  near  to  the  spirit  of 
Christ  as  revealed  in  His  attitude  towards 
the  children. 

Childhood  is  susceptible  to  the  appeal  of 
the  Saviour's  love.  You  say:  "The  child 
cannot  understand  the  plan  of  salvation ;  I  do 
not  believe  in  child-religion."     We  reply  in 


96      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

the  words  of  A.  H.  McKinney  :  "  I  would 
rather  try  to  teach  subHme  reHgious  truths 
to  a  child  of  six  than  to  an  adult  of  forty- 
six."  ^  The  child's  heart  has  not  been  hard- 
ened by  disobedience  ;  its  conscience  has  not 
been  seared  by  sin.  We  may  be  reminded 
of  the  words  of  Dr.  Edward  Judson :  "It  is 
sometimes  said  that  even  a  child  can  be  con- 
verted ;  it  should  be  said  that  even  a  grown 
person  can  be.  The  nearer  the  cradle,  as 
a  rule,  the  nearer  Christ."  ^  How  urgent 
the  Bible  is  concerning  the  religious  nurture 
of  the  young !  "Train  up  a  child  in  the  way 
he  should  go."  ^  "  Bring  them  (the  children) 
up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord."*  "Feed  My  lambs."'  Does  the 
Church  heed  these  words  adequately?  Spur- 
geon  said  there  were  certain  preachers  who 
acted  as  if  the  Lord  had  not  said  :  "  Feed  My 
lambs,"  but :  "  Feed  My  girafTes,"  because 
they  put  the  food  so  high  up  that  the  lambs 
could  not  get  near  it. 

The  child  should  be  taught  from  infancy 
that  he  belongs  to  God,  not  to  Satan.  What 
blighting  heresy  to  teach   him  that  he  must 

'"The  Teacher,  the  Child  and  the  Book,"  p.  158. 
•Quoted   by   Pattison   in  "  Ministry  of  the  Sunday-school," 
p.  36. 

'Prov.  xxii,  6.  *Eph.  vi.  4.  'John  xxi.  15. 


The  Scholar  We  Teach  97 

serve  an  apprenticeship  under  the  tutelage  of 
the  devil  before  he  can  be  God's  child  !  The 
Prodigal  Son  did  not  take  the  best  course 
when  he  went  into  riot,  and  degradation,  and 
shame,  and  close  to  the  brink  of  ruin  before 
he  came  into  filial  and  obedient  relationship 
with  his  father.  Bushnell  well  asks  :  "  Who 
can  think  it  necessary  that  the  plastic  nature 
of  childhood  must  first  be  hardened  into 
stone,  and  stiffened  into  enmity  towards  God 
and  all  duty,  before  it  can  become  a  candi- 
date for  Christian  character  ?  "  ^  You  ask  : 
"  What  becomes  of  the  doctrine  of  the  neces- 
sity of  the  new  birth  ?  "  What  we  have  said 
does  not  deny  the  necessity  of  regeneration. 
But  we  must  remember  that  the  "  initiating 
touch  of  grace "  may  be  given  very  early. 
The  earlier  the  moral  choice  is  made  for 
Christ  the  better,  and  why  should  not  the 
child  be  led  "  in  his  Jirsf  moral  act  to  cleave 
to  what  is  good  and  right"  as  well  as  in  any 
later  act  ?  Why  not  most  urgently  seek  to 
have  the  child  choose  Christ  from  the  very 
dawn  of  moral  choice,  rather  than  at  some  later 
hour  in  life's  day  ?  Bishop  McCabe  was  con- 
verted at  the  age  of  eight,  and  Matthew 
Henry  at  seven.  None  of  us  can  remember 
when  we  learned  the  alphabet,  but  we  know 

1"  Chiistian  Nurture,"  p.  22. 


98      The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

that  we  learned  it  some  time.  So  there  are 
those  who  do  not  recall  when  they  first  re- 
sponded to  the  wooing  of  God's  Spirit;  it  is 
back  beyond  the  field  of  memory. 

When  a  child  is  trained  from  infancy  for 
God  there  will  likely  come  early  a  deliberate 
and  fixed  purpose  to  be  Christ's  follower  for- 
ever. As  G.  Campbell  Morgan  says :  **  There 
will  come  a  moment,  known  as  adolescence, 
when  will  begins  to  work ;  and  the  child  will 
say,  yes,  I  am  His,  and  then,  sweet  and 
gentle  as  the  kiss  of  the  morning  on  the  hill, 
as  the  distilling  of  the  dew  on  the  herb,  the 
child  will  pass  into  personal  relations  with 
Jesus  Christ."  ^ 

In  conference  love-feasts  Bishop  Foster 
gave  as  his  testimony :  "  I  know  nothing 
about  conversion  experimentally  in  the  tech- 
nical sense  of  that  term.  As  far  back  as 
memory  goes  I  remember  loving  the  Saviour 
and  of  having  the  sweet,  childish  conscious- 
ness that  the  Saviour  loved  me."  Jesus  in- 
dicates that  childhood  is  the  time  to  come  to 
Him  when  He  says  :  "  Suffer  little  children, 
and  forbid  them  not,  to  come  unto  Me ;  for 
of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  ^  And 
long  before  Jesus  said  this,  it  was  written : 

*  From  address  on  "  The  Claim  of  the  Child." 
'  Matt.  xix.  14. 


The  Scholar  We  Teach  99 

"  Remember  now  thy  Creator  in  the  days  of 
thy  youth."  ^  God  called  Samuel  when  a 
child.^  Josiah  was  but  a  youth  when  he  be- 
gan to  seek  after  the  God  of  David  his 
father.^ 

Dr.  A.  F,  Shauffler  *  tells  of  a  minister,  who 
upon  hearing  the  scholars  of  the  primary 
class  called  "  the  little  lambs,"  said  :  "  Don't 
call  them  little  lambs  ;  call  them  little  wolves." 
Dr.  Schauffler  goes  on  to  say :  "  Was  he 
right  or  was  he  wrong  ?  It  rather  jars  upon 
our  conventional  conception  of  these  little 
ones.  Are  they  lambs  or  are  they  wolves  ? 
This  much  is  certain :  All  the  wolves  of  to- 
day were  once  little  children.  All  the  jail- 
house  occupants  of  to-day  were  once  prattling 
little  ones.  This  much  is  also  certain :  All 
the  great  saints  of  to-day  were  once  primary 
scholars.  Wolves,  or  lambs,  are  they  ? 
Neither  exactly.  Possible  wolves  ?  Yes. 
Possible  lambs  ?  Yes.  There  is  the  poten- 
tiality of  the  wolf  in  the  child,  and  there  is 
the  potentiality  of  the  lamb  in  the  child. 
There  is  a  possible  demon  in  the  child,  and 
there  is  a  possible  saint  in  the  child.  So 
that  when  we  face  the  little  ones  as  well  as 
the  older  ones,  we  are  facing  boundless  pos- 

1  Eccl.  xii.  I.  2 1  Sam.  iii.  19.  s  2  Chron.  xxxiv.  3. 

*  "  Pastoral  Leadership  of  Sunday-school  Forces,"  p.  94. 


100    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

sibilities  upward  and  boundless  possibilities 
downward."  "  The  soul  waits  at  the  point 
of  its  magnificent  infancy,  to  be  led  into  the 
choices,  tastes,  affinities,  and  habits  that  are 
to  be  the  character  of  its  eternity."  ^ 

Specialists  of  child  psychology,  and  stu- 
dents of  the  nature  and  phenomena  of  child 
life  may  prove  valuable  helpers  to  teachers  in 
our  Sunday-schools. 

Haslett  ^  divides  the  life  of  the  individual 
as  follows : 

"  I.     Infancy — birth  to  the  third  year. 

"  2.  Childhood — third  year  to  about  the 
twelfth  year. 

"  3.     Puberty — eleven  or  twelve  to  fifteen. 

"  4.  Adolescence — about  twelve  to  twenty- 
five." 

Or  again  : 

*'  I.  Body  or  physical — birth  to  one  and  a 
half  or  two  years. 

"  2.     Senses     about  two  to  eight  or  nine. 

"  3.  Judgment  and  memory — eight  or 
nine  to  about  fourteen. 

"  4.  Imagination — fourteen  to  about  eight- 
een. 

"5.  Reason  and  volition — eighteen  to 
about  thirty  or  later. 

1  Bushnell,  "  Christian  Nurture,"  p.  72. 
*"  Pedagogical  Bible-school,"  p.  94. 


The  Scholar  We  Teach  loi 

"  6.  Reflection  and  sentiments — thirty  to 
about  sixty-five. 

"  7.     Reminiscence — sixty-five  and  later." 

During  the  first  five  or  six  years  the  life 
of  the  child  is  especially  self-centred.  In 
this  period  the  child  thinks  only  of  its  own 
pleasures  and  pains.  One  amazing  thing  to 
the  writer  is  how  a  certain  little  sister  cares 
so  little  for  a  brother  when  he  is  in  trouble. 
Her  doll  and  her  doll's  clothes  are  of  more 
concern  than  her  little  brother's  distress. 

From  five  or  six  to  eleven  or  twelve  the 
social  element  becomes  a  factor.  Boys  and 
girls  play  together.  The  thought  of  self  as 
the  centre  abides,  but  not  so  prominently  as 
before.  Curiosity  is  aroused  and  the  mind 
teems  with  questions.  The  child  is  imitative 
now  and  submissive,  and  the  habits  of  rever- 
ence, prayer  and  worship  can  be  established. 

In  these  years  the  contents  of  a  boy's 
pockets  reveal  an  amazing  variety  of  objects. 
His  hair  shows  the  marks  of  a  comb  only  in 
front.  On  his  wrists  is  seen  "the  rim  of 
high  water  mark."  The  sheets  of  his  bed 
tell  too  often  that  he  crept  into  bed  with  un- 
washed feet.  He  slams  the  door,  kicks  the 
table,  walks  in  the  mud  and  water,  rather 
than  on  the  sidewalk,  and  his  mother  by  a 
narrow  margin  escapes  nervous  prostration. 


102    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

But  we  are  still  more  interested  in  the 
period  of  adolescence  which  extends  from 
about  twelve  to  twenty-five  with  boys,  and 
from  about  eleven  to  twenty-two  with  girls. 
This  period  is  sometimes  divided  as  follows  : 
Early  adolescence,  twelve  to  sixteen  ;  middle 
adolescence,  sixteen  to  eighteen  ;  later  adoles- 
cence, eighteen  to  twenty-five.  In  the  early 
years  of  this  period  there  is  the  growth  of 
the  physical.  The  muscles,  bones,  and  heart 
especially  develop. 

In  this  first  period  of  adolescence  the  boys 
are  awkward  and  crude.  They  laugh  boister- 
ously, and  talk  loudly.  Blood  and  thunder 
are  in  their  conversation.  Team  games,  as 
baseball,  football,  and  tug-of-war  enlist  their 
interest.  The  group  is  larger  than  the  indi- 
vidual, and  the  boy  will  work  for  the  good 
of  the  team.  The  girls  are  bashful  and 
sensitive.  They  are  apt  to  giggle  on  slight 
provocation.  Though  little  more  than  a 
child  you  must  not  designate  one  in  early 
adolescence  as  a  "child."  Better  not  call  a 
boy  of  this  age  a  "  kid  "  if  you  want  to  re- 
tain your  grip  upon  him.  "  Any  attempt," 
says  one,  "  to  treat  a  child  at  adolescence 
as  an  inferior  is  instantly  fatal  to  good 
discipline."  Criticism  crushes,  and  en- 
couragement inspires.     Great  loss  comes  to 


The  Scholar  We  Teach  103 

the  Church  and  Sunday-school  in  these 
years. 

In  the  earlier  years  of  adolescence  the 
sexes  fly  apart.  The  boys  are  called  "  hor- 
rid "  and  the  girls  are  called  "  sissy."  A 
little  later  the  boys  seek  the  company  of 
the  girls.  Charlie  waits  for  Annie  to  see 
her  home. 

Boys  are  said  to  be  most  susceptible  to 
influence  for  good  or  evil  from  twelve  to 
nineteen,  with  the  climax  at  sixteen  ;  girls 
are  most  susceptible  from  eleven  to  seven- 
teen, with  the  climax  at  fourteen.  One 
student  has  found  that  the  greatest  number 
of  spiritual  awakenings  and  commitments 
to  the  Christian  life  came  from  twelve  to 
sixteen. 

These  years  of  adolescence  are  among  the 
most  potential  of  life.  There  are  no  other 
years  fraught  with  such  fateful  destiny.  This 
period  has  been  called  "  the  holy  place  of 
opportunity "  for  the  parent  and  for  the 
teacher.  The  fact  that  crucial  choices  are 
made  very  often  that  determine  character  for 
eternity  gives  gravity  to  the  delicate  task  of 
parents  and  teacher.  Happy  is  the  guide 
who  is  in  close  intimacy  with  the  child  and 
has  the  child's  sacred  confidence  when  life's 
crisis  is  at  hand. 


104    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

The  tables  of  immortality  prepared  by 
Starbuck,  Coe,  Gulick  and  others  ought  to 
work  conviction  in  our  hearts  concerning 
early  conversion.  What  solemn  truth  they 
bring  us  !  Professor  Starbuck  found  that  of 
526  officers  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations  in  the  United  States  and  the 
British  Provinces  the  average  age  of  con- 
version was  about  sixteen  and  five-tenths 
years.^ 

Out  of  254  men  he  found  that  eighty-three 
per  cent,  were  converted  between  the  ages 
of  ten  and  twenty,  distributed  as  follows : 
three  per  cent,  at  the  age  of  ten,  three  per 
cent,  at  the  age  of  eleven,  five  per  cent,  at 
the  age  of  twelve,  four  per  cent,  at  the  age 
of  thirteen,  nine  per  cent,  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen, twelve  per  cent,  at  the  age  of  fifteen, 
thirteen  per  cent,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  eleven 
per  cent,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  ten  per 
cent,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  nine  per  cent,  at 
the  age  of  nineteen,  and  four  per  cent,  at  the 
age  of  twenty.^ 

Professor  Coe's  study  of  the  272  members 
of  the  Rock  River  Conference  reveals  that 
the  average  age  of  conversion  was  sixteen 
and  five-tenths  years.     He  gives  the  average 

•  Quoted  by  Professor  Coe  in  the  "  Spiritual  Life,"  p.  40, 
' "  The  Psychology  of  Religion,"  p.  29. 


The  Scholar  We  Teach  105 

age  of  conversion  of  1,784  men  as  sixteen  and 
four-tenths  years.  ^ 

Dr.  A.  B.  Van  Ormer  who  had  access  to 
the  obituary  notices  for  the  Christia7i  Advo- 
cate of  New  York  sa)^s  :  "There  were  2,276 
available  memoirs  of  men  and  2,542  of 
women.  The  memoirs  cover  all  the  decades 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  with  the  varying 
conditions  of  religious  interest  that  occurred 
during  the  century.  .  .  .  More  than  twelve 
per  cent,  of  all  the  spiritual  awakenings  of  men 
occurred  before  or  at  twelve  years  of  age  ; 
of  women  more  than  sixteen  per  cent,  oc- 
curred before  or  at  twelve  years  of  age.  In 
the  favourable  home  influence  cases  more 
than  twenty-one  per  cent,  of  the  men  made 
their  public  confession  before  or  at  twelve 
years  of  age ;  of  the  women  more  than  thirty- 
seven  per  cent."  ^ 

Marion  Lawrance  asserts  that  probably 
over  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  conversions 
occur  prior  to  the  eighteenth  year.^  Any 
teacher  may  well  tremble  when  he  sees  a 
scholar  slip  out  of  the  teens  without  becom- 
ing a  Christian. 

Starbuck  says:  "Conversion  does  not  oc- 

*  "  The  Spiritual  Life,"  pp.  43,  45. 

'  Address :  "  The  Age  of  Spiritual  Awakening." 

"General  Report,  1908,  International  Convention. 


lo6    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

cur  with  the  same  frequency  at  all  periods  of 
life.  It  belongs  almost  exclusively  to  years 
between  ten  and  twenty-five.  The  numbsr  of 
instances  outside  that  range  appear  few  and 
scattered.  That  is,  conversion  is  a  distinct- 
ively adolescent  phenomenon.  It  is  a  singu- 
lar fact  also  that  within  this  period  (the 
adolescent)  the  conversions  do  not  distribute 
themselves  equally  among  the  years.  In  the 
rough,  we  may  say  they  begin  to  occur  at 
seven  or  eight  years,  and  increase  in  number 
gradually  to  ten  or  eleven,  and  then  rapidly 
to  sixteen ;  rapidly  decline  to  twenty,  and 
gradually  fall  away  after  that,  and  become 
rare  after  thirty.  One  may  say  that  if  con- 
version has  not  occurred  before  twenty,  the 
chances  are  small  that  it  will  ever  be  ex- 
perienced." ^ 

Surely  these  facts  furnish  a  great  lesson 
concerning  the  vast  importance  of  early 
training  in  the  home  and  in  the  Sunday- 
school. 

What  shall  we  do  concerning  children  and 
church-membership  ?  We  believe  Wesley 
was  right  when  he  gave  all  baptized  children 
a  probationary  membership  in  the  church. 
This  gives  them  an  intimate  relation  to  the 
organic  body.     We  do  not  mean  that  boys 

1 "  The  Psychology  of  Religion,"  p.  28. 


The  Scholar  We  Teach  107 

and  girls  are  to  be  taken  promiscuously  into 
full  membership.  Great  care  must  be  ex- 
ercised. Prayer,  patience,  and  persistence 
are  needed  in  the  training  of  these  prospective 
church-members.  If  we  could  only  get  what 
has  been  called  the  **  triple  alliance  "  of  par- 
ents, Bible-school  teacher,  and  secular  in- 
structor, to  work  in  harmony  for  the  moral 
and  religious  development  of  the  boys  and 
girls,  they  would  in  most  cases  be  worthy 
candidates  for  church-membership. 

There  is  an  old  story  told  of  a  Scotch  elder 
who  was  considerably  aroused  because  his 
pastor  habitually  declined  to  receive  children 
into  church-membership.  One  day  he  in- 
vited the  minister  to  go  with  him  and  see 
the  sheep  put  in  the  fold  for  the  night.  The 
elder  stood  at  the  entrance  to  the  fold  and 
allowed  the  sheep  to  enter,  but  whenever  a 
lamb  came  he  pushed  it  back  with  a  heavy 
stick.  After  a  while  the  pastor  exclaimed : 
"  What  are  you  doing  to  the  lambs  ?  They 
need  the  shelter  far  more  than  the  sheep  1 " 
"Just  what  you  are  doing  to  the  children," 
was  the  instant  reply.  We  may  add  these 
words :  "  What  is  the  use  of  a  fold,  if  the 
lambs  are  to  be  kept  outside  till  it  is  seen 
whether  they  can  stand  the  w^eather  ?  "  ^ 

^Bushnell,  "Christian  Nurture,"  p.  309. 


lo8    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

A  farmer  was  asked  how  he  came  to  have 
such  a  fine  flock  of  sheep.  His  answer  was : 
"  I  take  care  of  the  lambs."  It  is  better  to 
keep  health  than  to  get  cured  after  you  are 
sick.  It  is  better  to  train  a  boy  to  be  honest 
than  to  cure  a  thief.  It  is  better  to  train  a 
boy  to  be  truthful  than  to  reform  a  liar.  It 
is  better  to  train  a  boy  to  be  brave  than  to 
reform  a  coward.  It  is  better  to  train  a  boy 
to  love  God  and  his  playmates  than  to 
change  the  heart  of  a  moral  rebel.  For 
thirty  years  Robert  Raikes  sought  the  reform 
of  the  criminals  of  the  jail,  but  finally  con- 
cluded that  "prevention  must  be  not  only 
better  but  also  likelier  than  cure."  As  Gypsy 
Smith  says  :  "A  fence  at  the  top  of  a  prec- 
ipice is  better  than  a  hospital  at  the  bottom." 

Henry  Drummond  calls  attention  to  an 
old  poem  which  bears  the  curious  title : 
"Strife  in  Heaven."  The  thought  is  as 
follows : 

"  The  poet  supposes  himself  to  be  walking 
in  the  streets  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  when  he 
comes  to  a  crowd  of  saints  engaged  in  a 
very  earnest  discussion.  He  draws  near, 
and  listens.  The  question  they  are  discuss- 
ing is,  which  of  them  is  the  greatest  monu- 
ment of  God's  saving  grace.  After  a  long 
debate,  in  which  each  states  his  case  sep- 


The  Scholar  We  Teach  109 

arately,  and  each  claims  to  have  been  far  the 
most  wonderful  trophy  of  God's  love  in  all 
the  multitude  of  the  redeemed,  it  is  finally 
agreed  to  settle  the  matter  by  a  vote.  Vote 
after  vote  is  taken,  and  the  list  of  competi- 
tion is  gradually  reduced  until  only  two  re- 
main. These  are  allowed  to  state  their  case 
again,  and  the  company  stand  ready  to  join 
in  the  final  vote.  The  first  to  speak  is  a 
very  old  man.  He  begins  by  saying  that  it 
is  a  mere  waste  of  time  to  go  any  further ;  it 
is  absolutely  impossible  that  God's  grace 
could  have  done  more  for  any  man  in 
heaven  than  for  him.  He  tells  how  he 
had  led  a  most  wicked  and  vicious  life — 
a  life  filled  up  with  every  conceivable  in- 
dulgence, and  marred  with  every  crime.  He 
has  been  a  thief,  a  liar,  a  blasphemer,  a 
drunkard,  and  a  murderer.  On  his  death- 
bed, at  the  eleventh  hour,  Christ  came  to 
him  and  he  was  forgiven. 

*'  The  other  is  also  an  old  man  who  says, 
in  a  few  words,  that  he  was  brought  to  Christ 
when  he  was  a  boy.  He  had  led  a  quiet  and 
uneventful  life,  and  had  looked  forward  to 
heaven  as  early  as  he  could  remember. 

"  The  vote  is  taken ;  and,  of  course,  you 
would  say  it  results  in  favour  of  the  first. 
But  no,  the  votes  are  all  given  to  the  last. 


1  lo    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

We  might  have  thought,  perhaps,  that  the 
one  who  led  the  reckless,  godless  life — he 
who  had  lied,  thieved,  blasphemed,  mur- 
dered ;  he  who  was  saved  by  the  skin  of  his 
teeth,  just  a  moment  before  it  might  have 
been  too  late — had  the  most  to  thank  God 
for.  But  the  old  poet  knew  the  deeper  truth. 
It  required  great  grace  verily  to  pluck 
that  old  brand  from  the  burning.  It  re- 
quired depths,  absolutely  fathomless,  depths 
of  mercy  to  forgive  that  veteran  in  sin  at 
the  close  of  all  these  guilty  years.  But  it 
required  more  grace  to  keep  that  other  life 
from  guilt  through  all  these  tempted  years. 
It  required  more  grace  to  save  him  from  the 
sins  of  his  youth,  and  keep  his  Christian  boy- 
hood pure,  to  steer  him  scathless  through 
the  tempted  years  of  riper  manhood,  to  crown 
his  days  with  usefulness,  and  his  old  age  with 
patience  and  hope.  Both  started  in  life  to- 
gether ;  to  the  one  grace  came  at  the  end,  to 
the  other  at  the  beginning.  The  first  was 
saved  from  the  guilt  of  sin,  the  second  from 
the  poivcr  of  sin  as  well.  The  first  was  saved 
from  dying  in  sin.  But  he  who  became  a 
Christian  in  his  boyhood  was  saved  from  liv- 
ing  in  sin.  The  one  required  just  one  great 
act  of  love  at  the  close  of  life,  the  other  had 
a  life  full  of  love, — it  was  a  greater  salvation 


The  Scholar  We  Teach  1 1 1 

far.     His  soul  was  forgiven  like  the  other, 
but  his  life  was  redeemed  from  destruction."  ^ 

The  world  is  out  of  tune,  and  much  of  the 
trouble  can  be  traced  to  the  lack  of  training, 
or  wrong  training,  in  youth.  What  a  scene 
of  horror  greets  us  as  we  turn  our  gaze  upon 
life  1  Envy  gnawing  away  with  its  tooth 
of  spite ;  infernal  conspiracies  concocting 
schemes  of  iniquity ;  schools  of  scandal  fur- 
nishing their  finished  graduates  ;  purlieus  of 
shame  sending  forth  their  fumes  of  death 
minds  burning  up  with  unhallowed  fires 
"  hearts  feebly  fluttering  in  the  toils  of  fate  " 
pathetic  waifs  of  dismantled  lives  whose 
"  blossom  is  going  up  like  dust "  ;  rancorous 
hatred  festering  like  cancers  of  infamy ;  cor- 
ruption, incest,  and  vice  bringing  forth  their 
heritage  of  woe  ;  bigotry,  greed,  and  passion 
polluting  human  nature,  enslaving  man's  no- 
blest impulses,  filching  away  his  manhood, 
dehumanizing  his  heart,  and  casting  their 
winding  sheet  of  death  about  him ;  drunken 
brawls,  midnight  murders,  pistol-shots  that 
tell  of  the  shattered  brains,  all  reiterate  the 
thought  of  misguidance  in  youth  and  life. 

When  Robert  Moffat  was  brought  into  the 
Church  the  people  said  :  "  Only  a  boy^  But 
that  boy  opened  up  new  provinces  to  the 

*  Henry  Drummond,  "  The  Ideal  Life,"  pp.  153-155. 


1 1 2    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

Gospel,  gave  a  translated  Bible  to  savage 
tribes  and  brought  African  chiefs  to  the  feet 
of  Christ.  With  wisdom  it  is  said :  "A  man 
converted  at  sixty  is  a  soul  saved  plus  ten 
years  of  service ;  a  child  saved  at  ten  is  a 
soul  saved  plus  sixty  years  of  service."  In 
the  children  are  the  future  saints,  apostles, 
and  prophets  of  the  kingdom.  Jesus  knew 
the  possibilities  of  fishermen.  Beneath  the 
rough,  blustering  exterior  of  the  fisherman, 
Peter,  Jesus  saw  an  apostle.  Under  the  coarse 
outer  garb  of  John,  Jesus  recognized  the 
possibilities  of  a  seraphic  soul,  who  by  his 
Gospel  would  lift  the  world  close  to  the  heart 
of  God.  And  when  the  Sunday-school 
teacher  faces  children  he  faces  wonderful 
possibilities. 

W.  L.  Watkinson  quotes  George  Dawson 
as  saying :  "  I  should  have  been  proud  to 
have  held  the  spy-glass  for  Columbus,  to  have 
picked  up  his  fallen  brush  for  Michelangelo, 
to  have  carried  Milton's  bag,  to  have  blacked 
Shakespeare's  boots,  or  to  have  blown  the 
bellows  for  Handel."  If  such  trivial  service 
to  the  great  is  to  be  coveted,  what  shall  we 
say,  oh,  teacher,  of  thy  crown  of  privilege,  of 
thy  golden  opportunity  to  mould  a  young 
life,  to  give  impulse  and  inspiration  to  an 
immortal  spirit? 


The  Scholar  We  Teach  1 13 

We  are  told  that  "all  that  is  wanted  to 
create  a  new  star  is  a  start.  There  is  a  vast 
floating  nebulae.  If  it  will  only  cohere  at 
some  little  point,  then  the  body  will  begin  to 
form  and  presently  you  will  have  a  star.  All 
that  you  want  is  the  point  of  contact,  the  co- 
hering point,  then  the  new  life  will  begin  to 
grow,  and  the  new  soul  will  begin  to  root."  ^ 
Happy  is  that  teacher  who  can  get  the  child 
early  in  life  to  recognize  that  its  growth  of 
soul  must  come  through  contact  with,  and 
rootage  in,  Christ. 

Guiding  angels  and  directing  demons  are 
ready  to  conduct  the  child  as  he  stands  at 
the  threshold  of  moral  choices.  The  teacher 
must  help  him  to  interpret  life.  He  must 
enable  him  to  see  what  Browning  saw,  that : 

"  This  world's  no  blot  for  us 
Nor  blank,  it  means  intensely  and  it  means  good  : 
To  find  its  meaning  is  my  meat  and  drink." 

The  teacher  deals  with  the  sensitive  child 
heart.  The  waves  of  the  ocean  answer  the 
summons  of  the  moon,  and  the  tides  proclaim 
with  what  authority  the  mistress  of  the  night 
speaks.  Iron  filings  respond  to  the  call  of 
the  magnet  and  reveal  the  subtle  influence  of 
the  electric  current.     Bursting  bud  and  open- 

•  W,  J.  Dawson,  in  Brooklyn  Daily  Eagle. 


114    T^^  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

ing  flower  tell  us  how  nature  obeys  the 
whisper  of  spring.  Scales  are  so  delicately 
adjusted  that  even  the  warmth  of  a  human 
body  will  cause  the  arm  of  the  balance  to 
turn.  But  more  susceptible  still  to  influence 
is  the  heart  of  a  child.  No  wonder  the  Bible 
says  that  we  must  not  "  despise,"  nor  "  of- 
fend," nor  hinder  these  little  ones.  "You 
must  keep  holy  the  being  of  the  little  child. 
Protect  it  from  every  rough  and  rude  impres- 
sion, every  touch  of  the  vulgar  ;  a  touch,  a 
look,  a  sound,  is  often  sufficient  to  inflict 
savage  wounds.  A  child's  soul  is  more 
tender  and  vulnerable  than  the  finest  or  ten- 
derest  plant."  ^  How  delicate  then  is  the 
teacher's  task  !  He  is  no  small  factor  in 
many  a  life.  Dr.  Schauffler  tells  of  a  girl 
who  was  joining  the  church  and  was  asked  : 
••  What  led  you  to  Christ  ?  "  Her  reply  was : 
'*  First  I  loved  my  teacher,  and  then  I  loved 
my  teacher's  Bible,  and  then  I  loved  my 
teacher's  Saviour." 

Sublime  patience  is  needed  in  developing 
the  inner  life  of  the  child.  Sir  Robert  Ball 
tells  how  the  light  that  comes  from  some 
stars  is  so  slight  that  it  does  not  affect  the 
optic  nerve.  But  a  photographic  plate  ex- 
posed for  hours  can  detect  this  light.     The 

•  Froebel, 


Th€  Scholar  We  Teach  1 15 

long  exposure  gives  the  faint  and  invisible 
beams  a  chance  to  make  an  impression. 
Our  snap-shot  glances  at  God's  eternal  truth 
do  not  give  time  for  an  impression.  And 
in  the  teaching  of  the  young  time  is  an  im- 
portant factor.  It  takes  time  to  grow  a  tree. 
A  decade  sweeps  away,  and  a  redwood  tree 
of  California  is  only  a  tiny  sapling  ;  a  century 
hurries  into  eternity,  and  it  is  still  far  from 
maturity  ;  a  thousand  years  pass  by,  and  it 
has  not  yet  come  to  the  zenith  of  its  power. 
In  the  Calavera  forests  there  are  trees  esti- 
mated to  be  six  thousand  years  old.  In  the 
antediluvian  age  they  sent  their  roots  into 
the  earth  and  lifted  their  heads  to  catch  the 
dews  of  heaven.  Through  the  centuries  they 
have  wrestled  with  the  storms  and  packed 
their  fibre  with  strength.  Thus  a  hundred 
generations  of  men  have  come  and  gone 
while  these  forest  monarchs  have  come  to 
gianthood.  The  teacher  must  be  patient, 
and  learn  to  labour,  and  to  trust,  and  to  wait 
while  boys  and  girls  grow  into  spiritual  gran- 
deur and  into  sainthood. 

When  we  remember  that  experience, 
science,  and  history  teach  that  character 
tends  to  permanence  as  the  years  pass,  the 
work  of  the  teacher  becomes  supremely 
sacred  and  solemn.     To  help  start  a  soul  in 


1 1 6    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

the  right  direction  is  a  subHme  task.  Wat- 
kinson  reminds  us  that  "  when  the  trees  in 
the  spring  time  are  nipped  by  the  frost  they 
may  recover,  but  they  never  quite  recover ; 
all  the  summer  long  the  scarred  leaves  tell  of 
their  early  misfortune.  It  is  much  like  this 
with  human  character.  A  life  blighted  in  its 
spring  misses  a  certain  glow  in  its  summer, 
a  certain  ripeness  in  its  autumn."  ^ 

In  the  child  the  gravitation  of  the  soul  is 
Godward.  The  young  heart  leaps  eagerly 
towards  the  celestial.  The  damning  power 
of  sin  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  this  attraction 
becomes  less  and  less  as  the  life  remains 
apart  from  Christ.  Woe  be  to  him  for  whom 
perdition  attracts  more  than  heaven  !  We 
must  save  the  children.  We  must  keep  them 
facing  heavenward. 

**  One  ship  goes  East,  another  West 
By  the  selfsame  winds  that  blow, 
'Tis  the  set  of  the  sail  and  not  the  gale 
That  determines  the  way  they  go. 
Like  the  winds  of  the  sea  are  the  ways  of  Fate 
As  we  voyage  along  through  life, 
'Tis  the  set  of  the  soul  that  decides  the  goal, 
And  not  the  calm  or  the  strife." 

Soul  training  is  the  divinest  art.  If  Angelo 
could  spend  eighty  years  with  sublime  en- 
thusiasm   to    represent   the   beauty   of    the 

"  Beginnings  of  the  Christian  Life,"  p.  I2. 


The  Scholar  We  Teach  117 

human  form  in  marble ;  if  Raphael  could 
have  his  heart  on  fire  as  he  sought  to  put 
upon  the  canvas  the  images  that  burned  in 
his  brain  ;  if  the  student  of  nature  has  a 
heart  that  grows  hot  as  he  examines  the 
flower,  smites  the  rock,  or  gazes  at  the  star, 
then  he  who  deals  with  immortal  spirits  that 
are  the  opening  flowers  in  God's  great  gar- 
den, may  have  a  heart  that  melts  in  mercy, 
glows  with  enthusiasm,  and  yearns  for  the 
salvation  of  those  under  his  care.  Farrar 
says :  "  If  we  work  upon  marble,  it  will 
perish ;  if  we  work  upon  stone,  it  will 
crumble  to  dust;  but  if  we  take  a  child  and 
train  it  well,  we  carve  a  monument  which 
time  can  never  efface." 

It  is  splendid  work  to  guide  the  iron 
monster  that  has  the  giant  steam  pulsing  in 
its  heart ;  it  is  a  worthy  achievement  to  be 
able  to  safely  direct  the  proud  leviathan  of 
the  deep  as  she  plows  her  w^ay  through  the 
heaving  main  ;  but  grander  still  is  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  Sunday-school  teacher 
who  can  safely  direct  the  life-craft  of  an  im- 
mortal spirit  so  that  it  shall  miss  every 
Scylla  and  Charybdis  of  temptation,  every 
hidden  reef  and  rock,  mount  every  wave, 
weather  every  gale,  and  sail  safely  into  the 
harbour  of  eternity. 


1 1 8    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

We  are  not  surprised  when  the  Jewish 
Talmud  says :  "  He  who  teaches  the  child  of 
his  fellow  man  shall  occupy  a  prominent 
place  among  the  saints  above."  No  man 
can  measure  the  value  of  a  child. 

Newton  N.  Riddell  gives  the  following 
incident :  "  One  of  the  first  families  of  New 
York  City  were  taking  their  vacation  in  the 
Adirondack  Mountains.  One  night  their 
little  baby  coughed  a  little  croupy  cough ; 
this  woke  mama  and  thrilled  her  with  fear ; 
then  father  was  disturbed  ;  a  messenger  was 
sent  to  the  nearest  station  ;  a  croup  specialist 
of  New  York  was  called  by  wire ;  a  special 
train  was  ordered  out ;  the  regular  trains  on 
the  New  York  Central  were  side-tracked ; 
the  United  States  mails  were  delayed ;  a 
wreck  was  caused  on  the  freight  lines;  a 
couple  who  were  to  sail  for  Europe  missed 
their  steamer  and  thereby  lost  the  fortune 
that  awaited  them ;  two  United  States 
Senators  were  late  arriving  in  Washington ; 
and  a  bill  was  lost  in  the  Senate  which 
afiected  the  whole  commercial  world.  My  I 
what  a  disturbance  for  one  croupy  child  to 
make  !  "  ^  This  hints  of  the  estimate  those 
parents  placed  upon  their  child. 

Celestial  mathematics  must  be  employed 

*'<  Immanuel,"  p.  194. 


The  Scholar  We  Teach  1 19 

to  determine  the  child's  soul-worth.  Man's 
measuring  lines  are  too  short  to  reach  the 
depths  of  this  abyss.  Not  until  you  could 
know  the  miseries  of  the  lost,  all  the  horrors 
of  a  blighted  soul,  all  the  pangs  of  a  remorse- 
ful heart ;  not  until  you  could  experience  all 
the  joys  of  the  just,  all  the  delights  of  the 
ransomed,  all  the  raptures  of  the  redeemed  ; 
not  until  you  could  compass  in  your  thought 
the  sweep  of  eternity,  and  weigh  in  the  bal- 
ances of  your  mind  the  treasures  of  an 
infinite  God ;  not  until  you  could  exhaust 
the  meaning  of  heaven,  hell,  destiny,  im- 
mortality, and  eternity  could  you  estimate 
the  full  value  of  a  child. 


IV 
THE  BOOK  WE  TEACH 


"We  believe  that  between  the 'beginning' in  Genesis  and 
the  '  Amen  '  in  Revelation  is  the  remedy  for  all  the  troubles  of 
this  world,  and  if  we  can  get  the  Bible,  with  all  its  meaning, 
into  the  hearts  and  the  lives  of  the  people,  we  will  solve  every 
problem,  social,  political,  ecclesiastical,  and  financial  that  the 
world  has ;  and  it  is  our  duty  and  our  office  to  try  to  bring  that 
about." — John  Stiies. 

"  To  tell  what  the  Bible  has  been  and  done  for  the  world 
would  be  to  rewrite  in  large  part  the  history  of  modern  civili- 
zation ;  to  retell  the  story  of  Christian  missions,  including  those 
which  brought  the  Gospel  to  our  own  shores;  to  extract  the 
finest  qualities  in  much  of  our  best  literature  ;  to  lay  bare  the 
inner  springs  of  the  lives  of  those  who  have  laboured  best  and 
most  for  the  moral  and  spiritual  well-being  of  their  kind." — 
James  Orr. 

"  In  the  Bible  there  is  more  that  _fi»ds  me  than  I  have  ex- 
perienced in  all  other  books  put  together ;  the  words  of  the 
Bible  find  me  at  greater  depths  of  my  being ;  and  whatever 
finds  me  brings  with  it  an  irresistible  evidence  of  its  having 
proceeded  from  the  Holy  Spirit." — Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge. 


IV 

The  Book  We  Teach 

WORDS  enshrine  ideas.  They  link 
mind  with  mind ;  they  are  the 
trades  upon  which  ideas  run.  A 
literature  treasures  up  the  chief  heritage  of  a 
people.  Hence  Lytton  said :  "  There  is  no 
Past  so  long  as  books  shall  live."  Milton 
said:  "A  good  book  is  the  precious  life-blood 
of  a  master  spirit  embalmed  and  treasured 
up  on  purpose  to  a  life  beyond  life."  yEneas 
Sage  declared  that  **  books  are  the  true 
Elysian  fields  where  the  spirits  of  the  dead 
converse."  *'  Give  me  a  book,  health,  and  a 
June  day,"  said  Emerson,  "  and  I  will  make 
the  pomp  of  kings  ridiculous." 

By  means  of  books  we  may  march  with 
Alexander  as  he  rears  new  dynasties  amid 
the  wreck  of  dismantled  kingdoms.  We 
may  go  with  Hannibal  as  he  scales  the  Alps 
and  rushes  down  their  icy  slopes  into  sunny 
Italy  to  threaten  the  Roman  dominion.  We 
may  go  with  Columbus  until  he  touches  the 
shores  of  a  new  world.  We  may  go  with 
Magellan  as  he  girdles  the  globe.     We  may 


124    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

go  with  Hugh  Miller  among  the  rocks,  and 
with  Newton  in  his  study  of  the  stellar 
hosts.  As  Balfour  says:  "You  may  enter 
at  your  leisure  into  the  intellectual  heritage 
of  the  centuries  "  ;  and  a  medieval  writer  de- 
clares :  "  All  minds  in  the  world's  history 
find  their  focus  in  a  library.  This  is  the 
pinnacle  of  the  temple  from  which  we  may 
see  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  and  the 
glory  of  them." 

With  the  Bible  in  hand  we  may  go  with 
the  author  of  Genesis  as  he  unrolls  the  pano- 
rama of  creation,  with  the  prophets  in  their 
lofty  imagery,  with  the  gospel  writers  in  their 
portraiture  of  the  Christ,  with  Paul  as  he  un- 
folds the  philosophy  of  salvation.  We  may 
follow  the  lead  of  the  Bible  as  it  tells  of  sin 
and  of  a  Saviour  found,  of  man  lost  and  of 
man  redeemed,  of  death  as  "the  wages  of 
sin  "  and  of  eternal  life  as  "  the  gift  of  God." 
In  this  Book  we  have  "the  record  of  the 
divine  education  of  the  race." 

The  sunlight  stored  up  in  coal  has  been 
used  to  illustrate  how  truth  has  been  stored 
up  in  the  Bible.  Ages  upon  ages  ago  God's 
sunlight  was  packed  away  in  the  great  trees 
that  grew.  The  trees  became  carbonated, 
and  now,  myriads  of  years  later,  we  dig  up 
the  coal.     We  place  this  fuel  in  our  furnaces, 


The  Book  We  Teach;  125 

and  the  stored  up  sunlight  of  other  days 
warms  us.  So  in  the  olden  time  God  spake 
unto  the  fathers,  and  unto  the  prophets,  and 
unto  the  apostles,  and  holy  men  of  God 
wrote  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Their  messages  are  in  the  Book, 
and  by  the  help  of  that  Spirit  who  inspired 
them  the  treasured  truth  glows  and  lives 
again.  "  As  God  made  man  and  breathed 
into  him  the  breath  of  life  and  he  became  a 
living  soul,  so  God  made  the  Scriptures  and 
breathed  into  them  the  breath  of  life,  and 
they  became  the  living  Word." 

Heinrich  Heine  exclaims  as  he  thinks  of 
the  Bible  :  "  What  a  Book  !  Vast  and  wide 
as  the  world,  rooted  in  the  abysses  of  Crea- 
tion, and  towering  up  behind  the  blue  secrets 
of  heaven.  Sunrise  and  sunset,  promise  and 
fulfillment,  birth  and  death,  the  whole  drama 
of  humanity,  all  in  this  Book  1 " 

Robert  Pollock  sings  : 

*'  Most  wondrous  book  !  bright  candle  of  the  Lord  ! 
Star  of  eternity  !  the  only  star 
By  which  the  bark  of  man  could  navigate 
The  sea  of  life,  and  gain  the  coast  of  bUss 
Securely." 

Our  English  word  "  Bible "  is  from  biblos 
and  biblos  was  the  inner  bark  of  the  Egyptian 
reed,  the  papyrus  plant  out  of  which  paper 


126    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

was  first  made.  **  Liber,"  the  Latin  word  for 
book,  was  the  inner  bark  of  the  hnden,  or  beech 
tree.  Our  word  "  book  "  is  from  "  beche " 
(Old  English)  and  has  reference  to  the  origin 
of  the  paper  out  of  which  the  book  is  made. 

The  Bible  is  not  one  book  but  sixty-six 
books.  It  is  an  unconscious  tribute  that  we 
pay  to  the  harmony  of  the  Scriptures  when 
we  speak  of  the  sixty-six  books  as  one  book. 
The  unity  of  the  Bible  seems  yet  more  won- 
derful when  we  remember  that  its  composition 
extended  over  a  period  of  fifteen  hundred 
years,  and  that  it  was  written  by  some  forty 
authors.  The  writers  of  this  Book  are  law- 
givers, kings,  prophets,  shepherds,  herdmen, 
vine-dressers,  fishermen,  physicians,  and  pub- 
licans. Its  contents  are  history,  prophecy, 
poetry,  drama,  pastoral  letters,  fiction,  and 
revelation. 

As  a  piece  of  literature  the  Bible  is  a  won- 
derful Book,  though  this  is  not  its  chief  claim 
upon  our  attention.  "  The  apples  are  gold, 
but  even  the  basket  is  silver."  "  The  pearl 
is  of  great  price  ;  but  even  the  casket  is  of 
exquisite  beauty."  When  Ruskin,  the  prince 
among  the  nineteenth  century  prose  writers, 
was  a  boy,  his  mother  made  him  commit  to 
memory  much  of  the  Bible.  In  later  years 
Ruskin  said :  '*  To  that  discipline  I  owe  the 


The  Book  We  Teach  127 

best  part  of  my  taste  in  literature."  When 
Matthew  Arnold  was  on  a  voyage  from 
America  to  England  he  read  much.  Some 
one  asked  him  what  book  he  was  reading, 
and  he  replied  :  "  The  New  Testament.  I 
find  it  the  most  delightful  reading  I  can  get, 
and  its  style  and  merit  as  a  work  of  literature 
never  cease  to  please  me." 

Lord  Macaulay  said  :  "  Whoever  would 
acquire  a  knowledge  of  pure  English  must 
study  King  James'  version  of  the  Scriptures." 
Thomas  Carlyle  characterized  the  book  of 
Job  as  "one  of  the  greatest  things  ever 
written  by  a  pen."  Goethe,  referring  to  the 
book  of  Ruth,  declared  :  "  It  is  the  loveliest 
thing  in  the  shape  of  an  epic  or  idyl  which 
has  come  down  to  us  from  the  centuries." 
Max  Miiller,  the  great  student  of  oriental 
languages,  says  :  "  My  most  delightful  hoiy 
every  day  is  furnished  by  David.  There  is 
nothing  in  Greece,  nothing  in  Rome,  noth- 
ing in  all  the  west  like  David."  Coleridge 
calls  the  book  of  Ephesians  "  the  divinest 
composition  of  man."  Literature  furnishes 
no  poetry  grander  than  the  Psalms,  no  his- 
tory more  charming  than  the  Gospels  and 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  no  fiction  to  compare 
with  our  Lord's  parables,  no  stateliness  like 
the  moving  majesty  of  Job  and  Isaiah. 


128    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

In  the  nature  of  its  themes  the  Bible  sur- 
passes all  other  books.  It  speaks  of  God, 
of  creation,  of  providence,  of  angels,  of  man, 
of  life,  of  death,  of  immortality,  of  eternity, 
of  destiny,  of  salvation,  of  heaven,  and  of  hell. 
In  breadth  and  sweep  of  theme  it  is  more 
vast  than  any  other  book,  in  flight  more 
lofty,  in  depth  more  profound. 

The  Bible  in  histojy  is  a  theme  worthy  of 
the  Sunday-school  teacher's  attention  and 
study.  This  Book  is  wrought  into  the  his- 
tory of  generations.  Huxley  said  :  "  It  is  an 
unquestionable  fact  that  for  the  last  three 
centuries  this  Book  has  been  woven  into  all 
that  is  best  in  English  literature  and  history." 
Listen  to  Haydn's  ".Creation,"  and  remember 
that  it  is  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  in  music. 
When  you  hear  Handel's  "Messiah"  with  its 
sublime  strains,  remember  that  the  Bible  was 
the  inspiration  of  that  rapturous  hymn. 
When  Handel  was  told  by  his  Sovereign  that 
the  "  Messiah  "  afforded  him  great  pleasure, 
Handel  said  to  the  Emperor  :  "  Your  Majesty, 
I  did  not  intend  to  arouse  or  to  afford  pleas- 
ure ;  I  meant  to  make  the  world  better." 
When  he  composed  the  passage  that  accom- 
panies the  words,  "  He  was  despised  and  re- 
jected," Handel  wept.  He  tells  us  that  when 
he     wrote     the     "  Hallelujah     Chorus "    he 


The  Book  We  Teach  129 

thought  he  saw  "  the  heavens  open  with  the 
angels  standing  about  the  throne." 

Ask  Milton  concerning  the  sublimest  poem 
of  our  language  and  he  will  tell  you  that  the 
Bible  is  its  mother.  The  writings  of  Shake- 
speare, of  Wordsworth,  of  Browning,  of  Ten- 
nyson, of  Longfellow,  of  Lowell,  and  of 
Whittier  are  saturated  with  the  Bible. 
Shakespeare  alone  has  three  thousand  Bib- 
lical quotations  in  his  writings,  and  Tennyson 
four  hundred  and  sixty. 

The  artist  Millet  said  :  "  I  get  my  inspira- 
tion from  reading  the  Psalms  of  David." 
Whoever  has  visited  the  famous  art  galleries 
knows  that  the  Bible  has  furnished  many  of 
the  scenes  for  the  greatest  artists  of  the  world. 

The  Bible  is  the  book  upon  which  reformers 
have  fed  the  holy  fires  that  flamed  in  their 
bosoms.  It  is  the  book  that  has  kindled  the 
lamp  of  hope  in  the  breast  of  the  slave.  The 
Bible  is  the  fountain  from  which  the  streams 
of  liberty  have  flowed.  The  translated  Bible 
vitalized  English  civilization  in  Wyclif  s  day. 

Dr.  John  Clifford,  of  London,  speaking  of 
the  influence  of  the  Bible  upon  England's 
civilization,  said :  "  The  Bible  has  made  us. 
Our  Reformation  sprang  out  of  that  Book. 
It  was  the  Bible  preached  by  Wyclif  and  his 
poor  priests  which  inspired  that  revolt  against 


130    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

papacy  which  at  length  in  our  departure  from 
Rome  and  in  the  ascent  of  the  British  people 
to  freedom  of  conscience  and  to  sovereignty 
in  the  life  of  the  world."  ^  Froude,  the  his- 
torian, declares  that  "  all  that  we  have  in  the 
way  of  civilization  in  a  sense  which  deserves 
the  term,  is  but  a  visible  expression  of  the 
transforming  influence  of  the  Gospel." 

The  open  Bible  in  Luther's  hand  brought 
Germany  to  her  feet  with  the  cry  of  liberty 
on  her  lips.  William  Wilberforce  who  did 
yeoman  service  in  breaking  the  chains  from 
the  bondmen  of  Great  Britain  said  :  "  Read 
the  Bible!  Read  the  Bible  I  Through  all 
my  perplexities  and  distresses  I  never  read 
any  other  book,  I  never  knew  the  want  of 
any  other."  Andrew  Jackson,  pointing  to 
the  Bible,  said  :  **  That  Book  is  the  rock  on 
which  our  Republic  rests."  Emerson  de- 
clared that  the  Puritan  pulpits  "  were  the 
springs  of  American  liberty."  But  those 
Puritan  pulpits  drank  from  the  Bible's  foun- 
tain of  truth.  Upon  this  Bible  brought  by 
the  Pilgrim  Fathers  this  mighty  Republic  of 
the  West  was  founded. 

This  Book  is  the  inspiration  back  of  hos- 
pitals and  asylums,  and  of  all  the  highest 
types  of  charity,  mercy,  and  protection  for 

^  "  Sacerdotalism  and  Sunday-schools,"  p.  14. 


The  Book  We  Teach  131 

the  weak.  The  sweet  humanities  of  our  day 
have  come  out  of  the  heart  of  Christian  love. 
Macaulay  says  :  "  I  altogether  abstain  from 
alluding  to  topics  which  belong  to  divines  ;  I 
speak  merely  as  a  politician,  anxious  for  the 
morality  and  the  temporal  well-being  of  so- 
ciety ;  and  so  speaking,  I  say  that  to  discoun- 
tenance that  religion  which  has  done  so  much 
to  promote  justice,  and  mercy,  and  freedom, 
and  arts,  and  sciences,  and  good  government, 
and  domestic  happiness,  which  has  struck  ofi 
the  chains  of  the  slave,which  has  mitigated 
the  horrors  of  war,  which  has  raised  women 
from  servants,  and  playthings  into  compan- 
ions and  friends,  is  to  commit  high  treason 
against  humanity  and  civilization."  In  his 
"  History  of  European  Morals,"  Lecky,  writ- 
ing of  the  influence  of  Christ,  says:  "The 
simple  record  of  three  short  years  of  active 
life  has  done  more  to  regenerate  and  to 
soften  mankind  than  all  the  disquisitions  of 
philosophers  and  all  the  exhortations  of  mor- 
alists." 

A  modern  writer,  who  has  drawn  arrows 
from  many  quivers,  tells  us  that  when  Charles 
Dickens  was  asked  what  is  the  most  touch- 
ing story  in  literature,  he  replied:  "The  story 
of  the  Prodigal  Son."  When  Coleridge  was 
asked  to  name  the  richest  passage  in  litera- 


132    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

ture,  he  answered :  "  The  Beatitudes." 
Burke  called  the  "  Sermon  on  the  Mount" 
the  most  impressive  political  document  on 
the  rights  of  man.  The  sentence  best  loved 
by  children  in  all  literature  is :  "  Suffer  the 
children  to  come  unto  Me " ;  the  sentence 
best  loved  by  the  aged  is :  "  Let  not  your 
heart  be  troubled  "  ;  the  sentence  best  loved 
by  men  is :  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He 
gave  His  only  begotten  Son."  ^ 

Take  away  the  Bible  and  its  influence  upon 
mankind  and  you  rob  the  historian  of  his 
most  thrilling  chapters,  the  artist  of  his  sv;eet- 
est  conceptions,  the  poet  of  his  loftiest 
themes,  and  the  prophet  of  God  of  his  di- 
vinest  messages.  As  we  earnestly  read  this 
Book  doubt  fades  and  faith  kindles,  hypocrisy 
unmasks  and  sincerity  lives,  despair  enters 
into  its  death  pangs  and  hope  reblooms, 
hatred  perishes  and  love  lives  and  grows,  sin 
slinks  away  and  piety  prays,  transient  things 
shrivel  and  eternal  verities  assume  their  true 
magnitude,  a  new  spring-tide  fills  the  heart 
with  song  and  joy,  and  God  rises  in  majesty 
on  the  soul. 

The  continuance  of  this  Book  in  its  influ- 
ence upon  history  is  most  wondrous.  Myr- 
iads of  books  never  reach  a  second  edition. 

'Hillis,  "The  Influence  of  Christ  in  Modern  Life,"  p.  75. 


The  Book  We  Teach  133 

The  librarian  of  Edinburgh  University  said 
one  day  to  Professor  Simpson  :  *'  How  many 
books  shall  I  reserve  in  the  library  for  your 
students?"  The  reply  was  :  "  You  may  put 
every  book  in  the  cellar  that  is  more  than  ten 
years  old."  ^  Books  in  that  department  over 
a  decade  old  were  only  curiosities. 

Bishop  Warren  says  of  the  Bible  :  "  It  rose 
out  of  the  spirit  world  that  is  the  source  of 
all  power.  So  in  all  the  years  of  your  com- 
ing life  the  Bible  will  rise  out  of  the  spirit 
world  with  the  same  voice  that  commanded 
the  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness.  The  lofti- 
est scholarship  will  revere  it.  Ethics  will 
turn  to  it  for  its  principles  and  authority. 
Philosophy  will  find  its  loftiest  flights  therein. 
Legislation  will  be  based  on  it.  There 
poetry  will  find  its  deepest  wells  of  inspira- 
tion, and  oratory  its  most  sonorous  periods 
and  aptest  quotations  to  bejewel  its  grandest 
flights."  =^ 

This  Bible  has  stood  the  tempests  of  millen- 
niums. Diocletian  tried  to  exterminate  it  in 
the  third  century.  Bold,  keen,  and  learned 
criticism  has  done  its  worst  from  the  days  of 
Celsus  until  now  to  undermine  its  message. 
The   astute    Porphyry   hurled   his   venomed 

*  "  Drummond's  Addresses,"  p.  66. 

2«<The  Bible  in  the  World's  Education,"  p.  152. 


134    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

shafts.  Hume  with  rare  subtlety  wielded 
cogent  weapons.  He  said :  "  Methinks  I  see 
the  twilight  of  Christianity."  It  has  been 
suggested  tliat  he  mistook  the  time  of  day. 
It  was  the  twihght,  but  not  of  the  evening 
that  deepens  into  night,  but  of  the  morning 
that  brightens  to  the  glory  of  Christianity's 
noon. 

Voltaire  flung  his  arrows  tipped  with  fire. 
He  said :  *'  I  will  go  through  your  theo- 
logical forest  and  girdle  every  tree ;  so 
that  in  a  quarter  of  a  century  not  a  sapling 
shall  be  left  to  you."  He  boasted  that  he 
would  soon  make  deism  the  religion  of  the 
world,  but  his  printing  press  was  soon  print- 
ing Bibles.  Tom  Paine  waged  the  fight  in 
his  "Age  of  Reason,"  but  he  has  gone  "to 
join  the  armies  of  the  obsolete,"  and  the 
Bible's  gospel  message  still  moves  on  tender 
in  sympathy,  majestic  in  grandeur,  trium- 
phant in  its  march. 

Sir  Isaac  Newton  said  that  if  all  the  great 
books  of  the  world  were  given  life,  and  they 
should  come  together  in  a  convention  :  "  The 
moment  the  Bible  entered,  the  other  books 
would  fall  upon  their  faces,  even  as  the  gods 
of  Philistia  fell  when  the  ark  of  God  was 
brought  into  their  presence." 

The  books  of  the  enemies  of  the  Bible  soon 


The  Book  We  Teach  135 

pass  out  of  print,  but  millions  upon  millions 
of  copies  of  the  Bible  are  sold  every  year. 
The  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  has 
published  over  two  hundred  million  copies 
since  1804,  the  date  of  its  organization.  It 
now  issues  about  six  million  copies  per  year. 
About  seventy-five  Bible  societies  publish 
twenty-five  thousand  copies  of  this  sacred 
Book  every  week-day. 

This  Book  is  translated  into  more  than  four 
hundred  languages.  Three  million  copies  of 
the  Revised  Version  were  called  for  in  a  few 
days  when  it  was  put  upon  the  market. 
Before  the  Revised  New  Testament  was 
published  in  1881  a  million  copies  had  been 
sold.  This  was  not  a  new  book,  only  a  new 
translation  of  an  old  one.  On  May  21,  1881, 
it  is  said  that  the  streets  of  New  York  were 
blocked  with  people  trying  to  get  the  Re- 
vised New  Testament.  The  four  Gospels, 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  the  Epistle  to 
the  Romans  were  telegraphed  from  New 
York  to  Chicago  that  they  might  appear  in 
the  morning  papers.  We  are  told  that  one 
Chicago  paper  employed  ninety-two  com- 
positors and  five  proof-readers,  and  they 
completed  their  task  in  twelve  hours. 

The  dusty  lips  of  archaeology  are  con- 
stantly adding    their   testimony   concerning 


136    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

the  truthfulness  of  this  Book,  and  while  its 
enemies  die,  and  their  criticisms  come  to 
naught  "the  Word  of  our  God  abideth  for- 
ever." 


*'  Last  eve  I  stood  before  a  blacksmith's  door, 
And  heard  the  anvil  ring  the  vesper  chime, 
Then  walking  in,  I  saw  upon  the  floor, 

Old  hammers  worn  by  beating  years  of  time. 

**  '  How  many  anvils  have  you  had?  '  said  I, 

'  To  beat  and  shatter  all  these  hammers  so  ? ' 
*Just  one,'  said  he;   then  said  with  twinkling  eye, 
'  The  anvil  wears  the  hammers  out,  you  know. ' 

*'  And  so  I  thought  the  anvil  of  God's  Word 
For  ages  skeptic  blows  have  beat  upon  : 
Yet,  though  the  noise  of  falling  blows  was  heard, 
The  anvil  is  unharmed  ;  the  hammers  gone." 


The  Bible  is  not  a  text-book  on  science. 
It  has  no  canons  of  criticism  on  art  or  music. 
Its  prime  purpose  is  to  reveal  God,  human 
duty,  and  human  destiny.  And  the  Bible  is 
to  be  judged  by  its  message  upon  these 
themes.  It  is  well  to  remember  Galileo's 
reply  when  he  was  accused  of  heresy :  "  The 
Bible  was  given  to  tell  how  to  go  to  heaven, 
and  not  how  the  heavens  go."  Man  pro- 
foundly needs  instruction  concerning  God, 
Duty,  and  Destiny,  and  concerning  these  the 
Bible  gives  illumination.     This  is  why   the 


The  Book  We  Teach  137 

Bible  "is  the  throbbing  heart  of  Sunday- 
school  work,"  and  of  all  other  work  that 
seeks  to  win  people  to  a  religious  life. 

So  we  recognize  in  the  Bible  not  simply 
a  book  of  literature,  and  a  book  that  has 
wrought  itself  into  history,  but  we  see  in  it  a 
Book  of  divine  Revelation,  a  Book  of  Salva- 
tion, a  Book  of  Life.  This  is  its  mighty  mes- 
sage. Bishop  Vincent  says  of  the  Bible  :  "  It 
has  but  one  theme  from  beginning  to  end. 
The  Bible  gradually  developed  through  the 
centuries,  and  in  an  important  sense  being 
now  gradually  developed,  has  always  one 
central,  dominating  idea, — the  divine  relief  or 
remedy  for  the  human  need.  There  is  prac- 
tically no  other  subject  in  the  Bible :  Sin 
and  Salvation ;  human  weakness  and  divine 
strength ;  man's  thirst  and  God's  river  of 
life ;  human  darkness  and  heaven's  light ; 
disease  and  remedy ;  weariness  and  rest ; 
despair  and  hope ;  death  and  life."  ^  It  is 
because  it  is  a  Book  of  Life  that  it  has  been 
able  to  withstand  the  assaults  of  the  centuries. 

The  Egyptians  had  a  book  called  "The 
Book  of  the  Dead,"  but  Watkinson  says : 
"  God's  most  holy  Word  is  the  Book  of  Life, 
and  the  book  of  the  living— it  makes  souls, 
creeds,  nations,  civilizations  to  breathe  and 

*  Address:  "  A  Forward  Look  for  the  Sunday-school." 


138    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

grow.  It  is  the  radium  of  the  moral  world. 
.  .  .  Scientists  aver  that  a  particle  of 
radium  encloses  a  gulf  of  fire  which  will 
radiate  heat  for  eighty  thousand  years  ;  these 
doctrines  of  revelation  are  yet  richer  in  force 
• — they  defy  centuries  and  outlast  stars."  ^ 

At  the  great  Sunday-school  Convention 
held  at  the  City  Temple  in  London,  in  1898, 
Bishop  Fowler  said  of  the  Bible :  "  The  uni- 
verse is  too  narrow  for  it.  Time  is  too  short 
for  it.  It  is  as  deep  as  the  foundations  of 
eternal  justice  ;  as  wide  as  the  moral  govern- 
ment ;  as  high  as  the  throne  of  the  Infinite, 
and  as  enduring  as  the  life  of  the  Almighty, 
and  its  inspiration  is  as  exhaustless  as  the 
love  of  God." 

In  its  revelation  of  God  the  Bible  meets  a 
profound  need  of  the  human  heart.  Life 
bristles  with  interrogation  points.  Problems, 
many  and  weighty,  crowd  upon  the  mind 
and  cry  for  solution.  Every  blade  of  grass 
quivers  with  questions  to  which  no  man  can 
respond.  Every  fluttering  leaf  trembles  with 
mysteries  which  no  man  can  unravel.  Man 
is  tormented  by  the  "riddles  of  creation." 
Man's  thought  plunges  into  the  ocean  of 
mystery  about  him,  and  into  the  ab3^ss  of 
mystery  within  him.     But  the  arrows  of  his 

'"The  Supreme  Conquest,"  pp.  170,  174. 


The  Book  We  Teach  139 

thought  cannot  pierce  far.  The  plummet  of 
his  thought  does  not  drop  deep.  The  flashes 
of  his  inspiration  are  soon  swallowed  up  in  the 
gulf  of  mystery. 

Man  craves  a  revelation  of  God  and  from 
God.  Homer  represents  Ulysses  as  "  always 
roaming  with  a  hungry  heart."  Cicero  said  : 
"  I  see  no  gods  on  Mount  Olympus."  He 
was  crushed  at  the  thought  of  no  adequate 
revelation.  The  Psalmist  said :  "  My  heart 
and  my  flesh  crieth  out  for  the  living  God." 
The  Magi  eagerly  followed  the  star,  because 
it  hinted  of  a  revelation  from  heaven.  Richter 
writes  :  "  On  every  hilltop,  in  the  summits 
of  the  loftiest  natures  of  every  nation,  will  be 
found  an  altar  to  the  unseen  personal  God." 
And  man  wherever  found  is  well  represented 
as  "  standing  at  the  eastern  window  waiting 
for  the  dawn." 

Man,  baffled  and  perplexed,  has  cried : 
"  Oh,  that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  Him ! 
As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  waterbrooks,  so 
panteth  my  soul  after  thee,  O  God.  Tell  me 
Thy  name."  Man  sees  the  earth  parched, 
scorched,  and  gaping  for  rain,  and  he  sees 
in  it  a  symbol  of  his  soul  passion  and  he 
cries  :  "  My  soul  thirsteth  for  Thee."  Think- 
ing of  the  frailty  of  man  and  of  the  majesty 
of  God    he  pleads :  "  Bow  the  heavens  and 


140    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

come  down."  God  is  the  Reality  after  which 
our  hearts  run.  PhiHp  was  spokesman  for 
the  race  when  he  said :  "  Lord,  show  us  the 
Father,  and  it  sufficeth  us." 

The  Bible  speaks  to  the  perplexed.  Lelande 
said  that  he  had  swept  the  heavens  with  his 
telescope  and  could  find  no  God,  and  he 
pretended  thus  to  settle  the  question  of  the 
divine  existence  in  the  negative.  But  that 
does  not  satisfy.  "  No  thought  without 
phosphorus,"  cried  Moleschott,  but  that  does 
not  clear  the  sky.  Without  Christ's  reve- 
lation we  are  correctly  called  "  midgets  only, 
maddened  with  our  little  touch  of  mind." 
Without  Christ's  word  in  this  Book  we  must 
resign  ourselves  to  what  Ibsen  calls  "  the 
eternal  silence  of  the  stars."  But  in  the  Bible 
there  is  dawn,  sunrise,  revelation. 

The  Bible's  revelation  of  God  is  brighten- 
ing the  hopes  of  man.  It  speaks  to  the  per- 
plexities of  the  race  ;  it  faces  the  problems 
of  the  heart.  It  tells  us  how  man  may  creep 
within  the  fold  of  the  divine  affection.  It 
tells  us  not  simply  of  the  kingship  of  the 
Eternal,  but  of  the  kinship  we  have  with 
Him.  The  Bible  "  unveils  "  the  Father.  No 
wonder  Coleridge  said :  "  I  believe  in  the 
Book  because  \t  finds  me." 

The  Bible  reveals  our  Father  as  a  God  of 


The  Book  We  Teach  141 

providence.  God  is  presented  as  the  Creator 
and  Sustainer  of  uncounted  worlds.  He 
walks  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind.  The 
clouds  are  His  chariots.  He  hears  the  ravens 
when  they  cry.  He  guards  the  planet  in  its 
sweep,  and  the  insect  in  its  flight.  He  opens 
the  gates  of  the  morning  and  the  petals  of 
the  rose.  His  footsteps  are  heard  in  the  roar 
of  the  storm  and  in  the  sob  of  the  sea.  He 
calls  the  stars  by  name.  "  He  bindeth  the 
sweet  influences  of  the  Pleiades,  and  looseth 
the  bands  of  Orion.  He  bringeth  forth  Maz- 
zaroth  in  his  season,  and  guideth  Arcturus 
with  his  sons."  Not  a  wave  ripples  upon  the 
bosom  of  the  sea,  not  a  leaf  flutters  to  its  fall, 
not  a  flower  opens  its  eyes  to  the  sun,  not  a 
dewdrop  quivers  on  the  clover-leaf,  not  a 
snowflake  makes  its  wandering  way  to  our 
world,  not  a  rain-drop  falls  in  silence  on  the 
sea  that  God  does  not  commission. 

The  Bible  reveals  God  not  as  a  King  upon 
a  marble  throne,  nor  as  a  Judge  who  rules 
with  a  rod  of  iron,  nor  as  a  Being  "  fierce, 
relentless,  and  vindictive,"  but  as  the  Lover 
of  our  race,  whose  throne  is  pillared  upon 
mercy. 

The  Bible  shows  that  the  Father's  love  has 
an  immortal  bloom.  It  reveals  how  His  love 
broke  the  silence  of  eternity  and  drew  Him 


142    The  Work  of  the  Sunday- School 

out  of  the  unseen  and  we  beheld  the  glory  of 
that  divine  affection  in  the  life  and  mission 
of  our  Saviour.  The  Bible  shows  us  how 
God's  love  hovers  over  the  sleeping  babe, 
and  solaces  the  heart  of  the  weary  mother  as 
she  watches  by  the  cradle  of  her  smitten  child  ; 
how  His  love  keeps  its  unfailing  vigils  in  the 
sick-room,  by  the  open  grave,  and  in  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  ;  how  His  love 
soothes  the  burning  temple,  cools  the  feverish 
brow,  and  quiets  the  whirling  brain  ;  how 
His  love  causes  the  sun  of  joy  to  burst  from 
the  riven  cloud,  and  the  flower  of  hope  to 
break  to  beauteous  blossom  at  our  feet ;  how 
His  love  twines  its  chains  of  golden  thoughts 
concerning  destiny  and  immortality  about 
the  brittle  thread  of  hfe  ;  how  His  love  stations 
a  guardian  angel  beside  the  cradle,  an  angel 
of  blessing  in  the  home,  and  a  resurrection 
by  the  tomb. 

The  Bible  shows  us  a  God  who  not  only 
makes  the  clouds  His  chariots,  but  who  sees 
my  falling  tear ;  who  not  only  walks  upon 
the  wings  of  the  wind,  but  who  wings  a  mes- 
sage of  love  to  my  sick  heart ;  who  not  only 
weighs  planets  in  the  balances  of  His  thought, 
but  who  weighs  the  burden  of  my  soul ;  who 
is  not  only  a  God  of  power,  of  glory,  and  of 
moving    majesty,    but    a   God    who   is   my 


The  Book  We  Teach  143 

heavenly  Father,  and  who  loves  me,  His 
erring  child. 

When  the  Bible  drops  the  plummet  of  its 
thought  into  the  abyss  of  God  we  must  not 
be  surprised  if  mystery  is  found.  In  the 
picture  it  presents  of  God  there  will  surely  be 
some  lines  that  stretch  away  into  infinity. 
Reason  must  have  left  her  throne  if  men  do 
not  expect  mystery  here.  If  there  were  no 
mystery  in  a  book  which  sought  to  tell  us  of 
the  Infinite  we  might  well  conclude  that  it 
was  an  entirely  man-made  production.  With 
Bishop  Thomson  we  say  :  "  When  Jehovah, 
from  His  mountain  home,  sends  down  a 
messenger,  what  wonder  that  there  should 
be  some  spots  upon  his  face  too  bright 
for  mortal  eye,  and  whose  brightness  must, 
therefore,  be  shaded.  Happy  are  we  that 
there  are.  They  speak  of  the  King,  eternal, 
immortal,  invisible,  and  of  His  inaccessible 
dwelling  in  light ;  they  speak  of  the  im- 
mortality and  progress  and  coming  illumi- 
nation of  the  soul ;  they  keep  the  mind 
forever  on  the  knee  and  forever  on  the 
wing."^ 

The  Bible  gives  revelation  concerning  Duty. 
The  Bible's  truth  is  the  daylight  for  the  soul. 
It  lifts  the  anchors  of  our  thought.     It  shows 

J  "  Religious  Essays,"  p.  1 8. 


144    ^^^  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

us  "  the  counsels  of  the  Eternal  mind."  It 
touches  infinite  circles.  It  makes  the  truth 
glow  and  swing  in  solemn  splendour  before 
us.  It  indicates  what  we  are  to  do,  what  to 
seek,  and  what  to  be.  It  reveals  to  us  the 
blessedness  of  the  lowly,  of  the  meek,  of 
those  who  thirst  after  righteousness,  of  the 
merciful,  of  the  pure  in  heart,  of  the  peace- 
makers, of  those  persecuted  for  righteous- 
ness' sake. 

The  Bible  indicates  how  Christ's  disciples 
must  preserve  society,  and  illuminate  the 
world.  It  teaches  that  anger  must  not  reign, 
that  brother  must  be  reconciled  to  brother, 
that  man  must  not  have  the  lustful  look,  nor 
the  angry  spirit.  It  speaks  of  the  law  of 
truthfulness,  of  love  for  God,  for  neighbour, 
and  even  for  enemies.  It  tells  us  how  to 
pray,  where  to  lay  up  treasure,  and  where  to 
impose  our  trust.  Love  and  service  must 
enter  like  golden  threads  into  life's  garment. 
We  must  be  "  conscious  of  duties "  rather 
than  clamour  forever  for  our  "  rights."  Do- 
ing these  things  man  shall  "  ripen  a  heavenly 
harvest,  and  the  Christian  shall  at  last  drop 
from  the  boughs  of  life  into  the  lap  of  God 
like  mellow  fruit," 

The  Bible  tells  of  human  Destiny.  A 
young    man   asked    the   burning   question : 


The  Book  We  Teach  145 

"  What  must  I  do  to  inherit  eternal  life  ?  " 
The  Bible  gives  answer.  It  tells  us  that  this 
life  and  the  life  to  come  are  linked  as  seed- 
time and  harvest,  as  cause  and  effect.  Men 
are  on  their  way  to  a  judgment  throne  where 
Christ  is  Judge.  There  will  be  an  eternal 
kingdom  which  the  righteous  shall  inherit, 
and  from  which  the  wicked  shall  be  excluded. 
The  separation  will  take  place  according  to 
an  inner  law  of  the  life  of  those  judged.  As 
Phillips  Brooks  said  :  "  The  Judge  just  lifts 
His  hand  and  raises  from  each  soul  before 
Him  every  law  of  constraint  whose  pressure 
has  been  its  education.  The  real  intrinsic 
nature  of  each  soul  leaps  to  the  surface. 
Each  soul's  law  of  liberty  becomes  supreme. 
They  turn  and  separate.  The  freeing  of 
souls  is  the  judging  of  souls.  A  liberated 
soul  dictates  its  own  destiny." 

The  Bible  reveals  to  us  a  living,  reignitig 
Saviour.  There  was  recognition  of  Christ's 
authority  in  m)Tiad  ways  when  He  was  in  the 
flesh.  The  fig  tree  withered  at  His  word. 
At  His  command  blind  eyes  began  to  see, 
deaf  ears  began  to  hear,  dumb  lips  began  to 
speak.  One  day  Jesus  fell  asleep  in  the  boat  on 
the  Sea  of  Galilee.  The  storm  broke  in  fury. 
The  tempest  lashed  the  sea  into  madness. 
The  hissing  flood  threatened  to  engulf  the  little 


146    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

craft.  The  elements  were  wild  with  tumult, 
and  the  face  of  Jesus  must  have  been  mois- 
tened by  the  spray.  Jesus  awoke.  He  ut- 
tered His  word  ;  the  tumult  was  hushed  ;  the 
sea  sobbed  to  silence. 

Evil  spirits  took  possession  of  a  man,  but 
the  Christ  of  authority  came  that  way.  At 
His  command  the  evil  spirits  fled.  They 
acknowledged  Jesus  as  the  Christ  of  author- 
ity. He  whispered  into  the  ear  of  the  sleeper 
who  lay  shrouded  in  the  embrace  of  death, 
and  forthwith  the  heart  beat  anew,  the  eye 
flashed  and  the  hue  of  life  and  health  re- 
turned. "At  His  girdle  hang  the  keys  of 
death." 

When  Peter,  James,  and  John  are  on  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration,  out  of  the  cloud 
comes  a  voice  to  the  apostles  saying,  "  Hear 
ye  Him."  Moses  is  there.  He  had  been 
leader,  lawgiver,  and  deliverer  of  Israel,  but 
the  Christ  of  authority  is  there,  and  Moses 
must  be  silent  and  listen  to  Him.  Elijah  is 
there.  He  had  fulfilled  a  great  mission.  He 
had  unsealed  heaven  v/ith  prayer.  He  had 
brought  defeat  and  ruin  to  the  prophets  of 
evil.  But  now  the  Christ  of  supreme  author- 
ity is  present,  and  the  lips  of  Elijah  must  be 
mute.     "  This  is  My  Son,  hear  ye  Him." 

Morrison  of  England  says :  "  We  are  ex- 


The  Book  We  Teach  147 

agfgerating  to-day  the  supphcating  and  be- 
seeching Jesus.  We  are  taking  the  grandeur 
from  the  throne  by  thinking  of  Jesus  as  our 
hfelong  suppliant."  '  He  does  Icnock  at  the 
door  of  the  heart,  but  we  must  remember 
that  it  is  a  King  who  knocks.  And  Christ  is 
King  "  not  merely  by  an  office  conferred,  but 
by  a  triumph  won.  He  faced  the  enemies  of 
the  race — sin,  and  sorrow,  and  ignorance, 
and  death— and  His  foot  is  upon  the  neck  of 
every  one."  Speaking  of  the  kingship  of 
Christ  one  of  God's  modern  prophets  says : 
"  We  keep  Him  nailed  to  the  cross  as  if  we 
had  forgotten  that  His  life  knew  only  six 
hours  on  the  cross  and  unnumbered  ages  on 
the  throne.  The  prints  of  the  nails  will 
never  fade  out  of  His  palms,  but  they  are 
hidden  by  the  sceptre  which  He  holds." 

We  are  glad  Jesus  was  once  the  babe  of 
Bethlehem,  the  child  of  Nazareth,  the  youth 
of  the  temple,  the  preacher  of  the  mount,  and 
the  Christ  of  the  cross,  and  so  sanctified  all 
life  from  cradle  to  grave,  from  birth  to  death. 
But  He  is  now  the  risen,  triumphant  Lord, 
the  invincible  Leader  of  His  militant  host. 
That  brow  that  once  bled  from  a  crown  of 
thorns  is  now  jewelled  with  coronets  of  glory. 
Those  eyes  that  once  looked  upon  a  crazed 

*"  Comradeship  and  Character,"  by  Various  Authors,  p.  213. 


148    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

and  murderous  mob  now  see  millions  paying 
homage  at  His  feet.  That  hand  that  once 
bled  from  the  cruel  nails  now  grasps  the 
sceptre  of  empire.  He  who  was  once  ex- 
ecrated, maligned,  and  disgraced,  is  now 
honoured,  worshipped,  and  adored.  He  who 
had  no  place  to  lay  His  head  sits  now  upon 
a  throne.  He  has  gone  from  a  tree  of  shame 
to  an  empire  of  power,  from  crucifixion  to 
coronation,  the  man  of  sorrows  has  become 
the  King  of  kings. 

Napoleon  could  move  -an  army,  Cicero 
could  arouse  a  city,  Demosthenes  could 
^  thrill  a  nation,  but  Jesus  Christ  with  His 
word  of  authority  and  power  can  move  the 
world.  Socrates  may  wave  his  wand  for  a 
few  centuries,  Plato  may  charm  the  world  for 
a  few  ages,  Aristotle  may  bear  sway  for  a 
millennium,  but  Christ  need  never  abdicate 
His  throne,  for  He  is  Lord  of  heaven  and 
King  of  men. 

The  Lily  of  the  Valley  is  sending  forth 
sweet  fragrance  into  all  the  world.  The 
Rose  of  Sharon  has  an  immortal  bloom. 
The  Star  of  Bethlehem  is  in  the  ascendant. 
Christ  is  sending  forth  His  truth  and  His 
light.  The  dew  of  the  morning  is  upon  His 
brow.  A  world-encircling  and  century-en- 
compassing glance  is  in  His  eye.     He  steps 


The  Book  We  Teach  149 

with  the  tread  of  a  conqueror  upon  the  crests 
of  the  centuries.  He  leads  no  forlorn  hope. 
His  dominion  is  a  certainty.  He  will  belt 
the  globe  with  universal  sovereignty.  The 
citadel  of  His  power  rises  up  out  of  the 
chaos,  and  from  its  windows,  He,  the  sentry 
of  the  ages,  cries  unto  His  watchmen  upon 
the  walls  of  Zion  :  "What  of  the  night?" 
and  they  send  back  the  answer  :  "  The  dawn 
Cometh!"  On  His  vesture  and  on  His 
thigh  is  written :  "  King  of  kings  and  Lord 
of  lords."  And  this  "  swordless  King "  of 
the  ages  will  neither  faint  nor  grow  weary 
until  "the  Gentiles  come  to  His  light  and 
kings  to  the  brightness  of  His  rising,"  not 
until  He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  His  soul  and 
is  abundantly  satisfied,  not  until  they  write 
"  holiness  to  God  upon  the  bells  of  the  horses," 
not  until  the  redeemed  of  empires  below, 
with  the  redeemed  of  courts  above,  sing  in 
harmony  sweeter  than  ten  thousand  harps  : 

"  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name 
Let  angels  prostrate  fall, 
Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem, 
And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all." 

When  we  thus  come  to  see  the  value  of 
this  Bible  in  literature,  its  place  in  history, 
and  its  mighty  message  to  the  heart  of  the 


ijo    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

race  we  are  not  surprised  that  man  is  slow  to 
let  it  die.  What  a  vision  it  brings  before  us  I 
With  majestic  tread  it  conducts  us  through 
the  days  of  Creation.  Its  message  flows 
from  the  lips  of  sage,  of  seer,  of  prophet,  and 
of  apostle,  and  from  the  Saviour's  heart  of 
fire.  It  opens  to  our  view  the  loving  heart 
of  our  heavenly  Father ;  it  unbars  the  gates 
of  man's  soul  and  lets  the  light  divine  shine 
in  ;  it  opens  the  gates  of  the  future  and  dis- 
closes the  mysteries  of  the  hereafter ;  it  points 
man  to  the  way  of  salvation  and  to  the  gates 
of  life ;  it  reveals  the  qualities  of  mind  and 
heart  we  must  foster  and  cherish ;  it  tells  us 
that  every  word  we  utter  is  "  docketed  for 
the  judgment,"  and  that  every  act  is  sublime 
because  **  its  vibrations  are  eternal."  It 
shows  us  that  religion  is  not  "  renunciation  " 
as  Goethe  said,  that  the  will  of  God  is  not 
something  to  be  endured  or  something  to  be  , 
feared^  but  something  to  be  done,  and  some-  V 
thing  to  be  deligJited  in,  and  that  "  he  that 
doeth  the  will  of  God  abideth  forever."  It 
tells  us  that  religion's  ways  are  "  ways  of 
pleasantness,"  and  that  her  paths  are  "  paths 
of  peace,"  that  "  the  depressions  of  a  true, 
pure  life  are  higher  than  the  altitudes  of 
worldliness  and  sin,"  It  shows  us  that  there 
are  no  joys  like  the  joys  of  the  ransomed,  no 


The  Book  We  Teach  131 

hopes  Hke  the  hopes  of  the  redeemed,  no 
songs  so  celestial  as  the  songs  of  Israel,  and 
no  harps  so  sweet  as  those  attuned  on  Zion's 
hill.  It  shows  us  the  Christ  of  authority  and 
power,  and  the  Christ  of  the  cooling  hand, 
of  the  healing  word,  of  the  benignant  smile, 
of  the  loving  soul,  of  the  forgiving  spirit,  of 
the  tender  heart,  the  Christ  whose  touch  is 
life  and  whose  smile  is  heaven.  This  is  the 
Book,  O  teacher !  which  you  are  to  study, 
assimilate,  and  translate  into  a  living  gospel, 
and  which  you  are  to  "  cause  another  to 
know." 


V 

DECISION   DAY  IN  THE  SUNDAY- 
SCHOOL 


"  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  if  we  could  secure  a  general  and 
wise  observance  of  Decision  Day,  the  Church  would  hare  the 
revival  forvvhich  we  have  been  praying." — Pf^:  C.  Pearce. 

"  The  teacher  ought  to  understand  what  the  step  of  Christian 
decision  involves  in  their  (scholars)  case,  and  then  to  ask  and 
expect  and  help  them  to  take  that  step. 

"  The  bringing  of  the  scholars  into  the  faith  and  the  likeness 
of  Jesus  is  the  only  proper  end  and  aim  of  the  Sunday-school 
teacher's  endeavours." — H.  CUiy  I'riunbull. 

"  An  objection  often  heard  to  Decision  Day  is  that  every  day 
should  be  Decision  Day.  To  this  also  we  quite  agree.  But  is 
it  not  true  that  every  day  should  be  a  thanksgiving  day?  Yet 
we  are  not  prepared  to  drop  our  annual  Thanksgiving  Day 
from  the  calendar." — Marion  Lawra7ice. 

"  As  Christian  workers  we  are  not  satisfied  unless  decisions 
for  Christ  are  followed  by  church-membeiship ;  and  in  the 
minds  of  most  people,  children  as  well  as  adults,  such  decisions 
are  thus  associated — perhaps  because  this  generally  follows.  It 
is  therefore  proper  that  the  questions  which  relate  to  winning 
our  scholars  to  Christ  and  those  that  concern  their  becoming 
members  of  the  church  be  treated  together." — David  C.  Cook, 


V 

Decision  Day  in  the  Sunday-School 

I.  Why  have  Decision  Day  in  the  Sunday- 
school?  I.  Because  moral  decision  is  a  cru- 
cial matter  in  the  history  of  a  soul.  The 
power  of  choice  is  among  the  sublimest  gifts 
of  God  to  man.  This  is  a  part  of  the  divine 
image  in  which  man  was  created.  This  is  a 
regal  crown  with  which  God  adorned  man. 
It  constitutes  at  once  the  glory  and  the  so- 
lemnity of  life. 

*'  So  nigh  is  grandeur  to  our  dust, 
So  near  is  God  to  man, 
When  Dut)'  whispers  low,  '  Thou  must,' 
The  youth  replies,  '  I  can. 


»  I  > 


Man's  destiny  for  weal  or  for  woe  rests 
with  himself.  Planets  blindly  obey  the  laws 
that  govern  their  majestic  march.  Beasts  fol- 
low their  native  instincts.  Man  is  free,  his 
course  in  life  is  self-determined.  He  can  do 
or  not  do  the  moral  acts  of  life.  Choice  is  a 
necessity  of  his  condition.  This  is  the  divine 
economy  under  which  he  lives.  Take  away 
man's  freedom  of  will  and  he  becomes  a  ma- 
155 


1 56    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

chine,  virtue  becomes  a  phantom,  evil  a 
dream,  and  moral  responsibility  a  delusion. 
Man's  will  is  the  hinge  upon  which  his  des- 
tiny swings.  Character  is  a  child  of  choice. 
If  man  makes  choice  of  the  good,  the  forces 
of  righteousness  begin  to  act,  and  they  help 
him  build  noble  character.  "  Tendency  in- 
dicates choice,"  says  one.  Let  that  truth 
burn  in  the  heart.  People  conclude  that 
they  are  not  rejecting  Christ,  but  the  "tend- 
ency "  of  the  life  really  indicates  the  choice, 
and  prophesies  an  approaching  goal  of  moral 
ruin.  So  the  vast  significance  of  moral  de- 
cisions in  a  human  life  argues  for  the  observ- 
ance of  Decision  Day  in  the  Sunday-school. 

2.  It  helps  to  make  clear  the  real  aim  of 
the  Sunday-school,  namely :  to  get  scholars 
to  accept  Christ  as  their  Saviour,  and  after 
this  fundamental  decision  to  develop  Chris- 
tian character  according  to  the  pattern  and 
teaching  of  Christ.  The  teacher  gains  the 
conviction  that  the  truth  must  not  only  be 
presented  carefully,  but  presented  so  as  to 
be  welcomed  into  the  heart  of  the  scholar 
and  become  a  part  of  his  life.  The  teacher 
comes  to  see  more  clearly  that  the  scholar 
who  is  not  a  Christian  must  be  led  to  Christ, 
and  the  one  who  is  a  Christian  must  be  built 
up  in  Christ. 


Decision  Day  in  the  Sunday-School     157 

3.  It  tells  the  teacher  that  he  must  con- 
crete his  efforts.  It  crystallizes  the  teacher's 
work  around  a  definite  object.  It  leads  to 
specific  personal  work.  This  is  great  gain. 
The  successful  hunter  takes  aim,  so  does  the 
wise  teacher. 

4.  The  observance  of  Decision  Day  re- 
veals to  many  a  teacher  that  he  can  do  true 
evangelistic  work.  What  wealth  of  blessing 
comes,  not  only  to  the  scholars  won  by  the 
teacher,  but  to  the  teacher  also,  when  a  soul 
has  been  led  to  make  definite  decision  for 
Christ ! 

5.  Decision  Day  gives  opportunity  under 
favourable  surroundings  for  boys  and  girls 
to  make  an  open  avowal  of  their  Christian 
discipleship.  Enormous  gain  is  made  when 
the  scholar  is  led  to  a  public  committal  of 
his  life  to  Christ.  Some  boys  and  girls  are 
timid  and  shy,  and  it  is  very  difficult  to 
secure  an  open  confession  of  their  purpose  to 
be  Christians.  We  believe  Decision  Day  in 
the  Sunday-school  furnishes  a  rare  opportu- 
nity to  enlist  such  scholars  on  the  side  of 
Christ. 

6.  It  builds  the  church.  Decision  Day 
shrinks  the  loss  between  the  Sunday-school 
and  the  church.  A  few  years  ago  it  was 
claimed  that  only  thirty-three  per  cent,  of  the 


{ 


158    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

scholars  who  entered  our  Sunday-schools 
came  directly  from  these  schools  into  church-  )/ 
membership.  About  ten  years  ago  a  man  of 
New  York  City  said  that  according  to  the 
data  furnished  for  a  number  of  years  previous 
to  1900,  about  one-fifth  of  the  scholars  of  our 
Protestant  Sunday-schools  of  New  York  State 
confessed  Christ  while  members  of  those 
schools.  The  observance  of  Decision  Day  is 
helping  to  change  this  appalling  fact. 

II.  Preparation  for  Decision  Day.  Let 
the  Sunday-school  Board  carefully  consider 
this  matter,  counsel  together  concerning  it, 
and  pray  about  it  until  a  solemn  conviction 
of  the  need  and  opportunity  of  Decision  Day 
takes  deep  root  in  their  hearts.  Let  the 
pastor  preach  once  or  more  on  themes  that 
set  forth  the  importance  of  early  decision  for 
Christ.  Let  him  show  that  the  Sunday- 
school  is  the  truly  great  evangelistic  agency 
in  our  world  to-day.  Let  him  lay  the  re- 
sponsibility of  winning  the  scholars  to  Christ 
on  the  hearts  of  the  parents  and  teachers. 

Let  the  prayer-meeting  of  the  church  be 
conducted  in  the  interests  of  the  Sunday- 
school  with  special  reference  to  Decision 
Day.  By  Sabbath  and  week-day  services 
seek  to  enlist  the  hearty  cooperation  of  as 
many  parents   as   possible   in  the  Decision 


Decision  Day  in  the  Sunday-School     159 

Day   service.     Magnify    the    Sunday-sch^ool_ 
and  its  great  work  in  the  hearing  of  all  the 
people. 

Have  a  prayer-meeting  for  the  teachers, 
and  officers  and  pastor  on  Saturday  night, 
or  better  still  on  Sunday  just  before  the 
Sunday-school  hour.  Let  this  be  a  time  of 
real  heart  preparation  for  the  delicate  task 
that  is  at  hand.  Pray  for  a  baptism  of  ten- 
derness and  for  a  spirit  of  Christlike  solicitude 
for  the  salvation  of  the  scholars  of  the  school. 

Some  teachers  follow  the  plan  of  getting 
decisions  for  Christ  in  their  classes  even 
weeks  before  Decision  Day.  To  do  this  it 
is  wise  to  see  the  scholar  alone.  This  can  be 
done  by  having  the  scholar  come  to  your 
home  or  office,  or  by  calling  on  the  scholar 
where  you  will  be  sure  of  a  private  conversa- 
tion. A  boy  or  girl  will  open  the  heart  much 
more  readily,  and  express  more  frankly  the 
difhculties  in  the  way,  when  only  the 
teacher's  ears  can  hear.  This  method  of 
procedure  makes  of  Decision  Day  more 
what  is  called,  "  Witness  Day."  This  plan 
has  its  advantages,  for  as  suggested  by  one  : 
"  Every  farmer  knows  he  cannot  set  a  date 
and  say,  '  I  will  harvest  all  my  corn  and  oats 
on  August  tenth.'"  The  most  opportune 
moment  to  secure  decisions  for  Christ  may 


l6o    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

not  occur  on  a  particular  Sunday  in  the  case 
of  all  you  desire  to  reach,  so  by  working 
through  several  weeks  towards  the  aim  of 
Decision  Day  more  scholars  may  be  won  for 
Christ  than  by  simply  using  the  one  ap- 
pointed day. 

As  a  part  of  the  preparation  for  Decision 
Day  let  there  be  an  expression  on  the  part 
of  the  teacher  of  his  deep  interest  in  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  members  of  his  class. 
Let  them  know  and  feel  the  yearning  solici- 
tude of  your  heart  for  their  personal  decision 
for  Jesus  Christ.  Pray  over  this  matter  until 
the  expression  of  your  interest  will  be  truly 
genuine,  and  from  the  depths  of  your  heart. 

III.  Hoiv  to  cojiditct  the  service  on  Decision 
Day.  Cast-iron  methods  cannot  be  given. 
I  venture  to  give  simply  one  plan  used  several 
times  by  the  writer. 

Have  a  half  hour  prayer  service  with 
pastor,  teachers,  and  officers  present  just 
before  the  session  of  the  school.  During  the 
school  period  avoid  anything  like  business 
just  as  far  as  possible.  As  Marion  Lawrance 
suggests :  "  Let  there  be  no  rattle  of  machin- 
ery." Let  all  the  hymns  sung  conduce  to 
the  supreme  object  of  the  day — decision  for 
Christ.  Let  several  persons  lead  briefly  in 
most  earnest,  intercessory   prayer.     Let  the 


Decision  Day  in  the  Sunday-School     161 

teachers  have  fifteen  minutes  with  their 
classes  that  they  may  make  the  personal 
appeal  for  their  scholars  to  make  definite 
choice  of  Jesus  as  their  Saviour.  If  the 
lesson  for  the  day  furnishes  the  basis  for 
such  an  appeal  use  it,  but  if  not,  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  neglect  the  lesson  and  with  heart  of 
fire  plead  as  a  faithful  embassador  of  Christ 
for  the  committal  of  the  life  to  Jesus. 

Let  me  here  relate  the  experience  of  a 
young  lady  teacher  on  a  Decision  Day.  The 
day  was  approaching  when,  according  to  the 
plan,  all  the  Sunday-schools  in  a  certain  city 
were  to  make  a  concerted  effort  to  secure 
decisions  for  Christ.  This  young  lady  spent 
much  of  the  Saturday  night  in  prayer.  On 
the  Sabbath  she  went  into  the  Sunday-school 
service  with  a  tender  and  glowing  heart,  for 
the  touch  of  God  was  upon  her  spirit.  By 
and  by  the  time  came  for  the  teachers  to 
make  the  appeal  to  their  classes.  This  young 
woman  pled  with  one  and  another,  and  one 
decision  after  another  was  made  for  Christ. 
When  the  hour  closed  all  but  two,  I  think,  of 
a  class  of  about  a  dozen  had  yielded  to  this 
persistent  pleader. 

When  the  teachers  have  made  their  appeal, 
then  let  the  pastor  speak  to  the  school,  and 
after   brief   but   fervent   words,    let  him  call 


i62    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

for  an  open  acknowledgment  of  the  de- 
cision to  take  Christ  as  Saviour  and  Lord. 
He  can  have  the  scholars  do  this  by  stand- 
ing or  by  coming  forward.  Here  the  teacher 
may  give  an  additional  word  of  appeal  and 
encouragement  while  the  pastor  is  giving  the 
call. 

After  this  let  there  be  a  time  for  prayer, 
and  while  hearts  aglow  with  love  are  pray- 
ing, still  other  decisions  may  be  gotten  by 
one  more  appeal  on  the  part  of  the  teachers 
who  are  near  their  scholars. 

Before  the  dismissal  let  the  names  and 
addresses  of  all  who  have  made  decisions 
be  gotten,  so  that  the  pastor  as  well  as  the 
teacher  may  know  the  result  in  every  class. 
A  form  of  Decision  Day  card  may  very  well 
be  used.     Here  is  one  form : 

My  Decision 

I  accept  Jesus  Christ  as  my  Saviour.     I 
purpose  to  serve  Him  all  ?jiy  life. 

Scholar^ s  name,  

Address,  

Date, 

IV.  After  Decision  Day.  Those  who  have 
made  a  real  decision  on  Decision  Day  should 
be  gotten  into  what  is  designated  in  Method- 


Decision  Day  in  the  Sunday-School     163 

ist  churches  as  the  "  Probationer's  Class," 
and  in  other  churches  by  varying  names. 
Where  we  have  the  triple  alliance  of  pastor, 
teacher,  and  parent  this  will  not  be  very 
difficult.  But  often  we  do  not  have  such  a 
happy  combination.  Then  tact,  persistence, 
consecration,  every  gift  and  grace  that  man 
can  command  is  needed  for  the  task  that  is 
before  the  pastor  and  teacher. 

The  matter  of  joining  the  church  is  very 
closely  connected  with  the  work  of  Decision 
Day  and  is  of  such  marked  importance  that 
we  may  well  consider  it  carefully. 

The  Church  is  a  divine  institution.  She 
has  a  divine  commission  from  her  Lord. 
She  does  not  make  the  truth,  but  she  is 
commissioned  to  proclaim  it,  to  testify  to  it, 
and  to  live  it.  She  is  not  the  way,  but  a 
witness  to  the  way.     She  is  a  Voice,  a  herald. 

She  gives  protection.  Parents  who  do  not 
go  to  church  often  desire  to  have  their  chil- 
dren in  the  Sunday-school.  To  illustrate  the 
safety  the  church  affords  some  one  has  used 
the  illustration  of  an  apple  tree  that  grows 
inside  the  garden  wall  and  one  that  grows  in 
the  public  highway.  The  old  apple  tree  in 
the  lane  at  the  edge  of  a  village  is  full  of 
sticks  and  clubs.  It  belongs  to  the  public. 
It  is  unprotected.     The  apples  are  knocked 


164    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

off  when  only  half  grown.  The  tree  is 
worthless.  Just  inside  the  garden  fence  is  a 
similar  tree,  but  it  is  protected.  Its  fruit 
comes  to  perfection.  The  apple  tree  in  the 
lane  is  like  a  person  trying  to  live  a  Christian 
life  outside  of  the  church. 

The  church  gives  the  signal  of  danger.  It 
was  a  noble  deed  when  Paul  Revere  hung 
out  the  lantern  in  the  tower  of  the  Old  North 
Church,  Salem  Street,  Boston,  and  so  warned 
the  Colonists  that  the  British  were  coming. 
So  the  church  hangs  out  the  signal  of  danger 
and  warns  those  within  the  fold. 

The  church  speaks  to  us  of  God.  One  of 
the  most  impressive  sights  of  London  is 
Saint  Paul's  Cathedral.  I  remember  how 
one  cloudy,  gloomy  day  I  walked  across  a 
section  of  the  city,  and  above  the  darkness  and 
the  gloom  of  the  lower  streets  I  saw  the  dome 
of  that  great  temple  of  worship  pointing  up 
to  God.  Bishop  Quayle  speaking  of  Saint 
Paul's  says :  "  Its  huge  dome  crowds  up 
above  the  shoulders  of  the  mercantile  me- 
tropolis. On  the  road  to  the  Bank  of  Eng- 
land this  house  of  God  stands,  and  where 
commerce  swirls  wilder  than  a  winter  sea, 
there  climbs  the  spacious  dome  up,  up,  hunt- 
ing God." 

If  the  church  is  instituted  of  God,  and  is 


Decision  Day  in  the  Sunday-School     165 

for  protection,  and  for  the  salvation  of  the 
world,  then  the  Christian  ought  to  join  it. 
Yet  the  pastor  meets  difficulty  in  getting 
young  people  who  take  their  stand  on  Deci- 
sion Day  to  take  their  place  as  candidates 
for  church-membership.  The  Sunday-school 
teachers  can  help  much  here.  Let  them 
show  the  scholar  that  the  Christian  who  re- 
fuses to  join  the  church  is  counted  as  being 
against  Christ.  Ask  a  person  about  becom- 
ing a  Christian,  and  if  he  does  not  want  to, 
he  will  be  quite  sure  to  say  :  "  I  don't  want 
to  join  the  church."  That  is  to  say,  he  esti- 
mates Christianity  by  the  church-members. 
If  you  are  not  a  church-member,  and  yet 
count  yourself  a  Christian,  the  world  counts 
you  as  against  Christ,  and  you  are  the  only 
person  who  can  correct  that  false  impression. 
No  man  has  ever  been  given  the  right  to  as- 
sume an  attitude  such  that,  if  every  other 
person  assumed  the  same  attitude,  would  an- 
nihilate the  church,  and  secret  discipleship 
means  the  annihilation  of  Christianity. 

Young  converts  especially  need  the  church. 
We  come  to  Christ  not  first  of  all  for  Jesus' 
sake,  but  for  our  own  sake.  And  we  join 
the  church  first  of  all  not  because  the  church 
needs  us,  but  more  because  we  need  the 
church.     Does  any  man  rightly  estimate  his 


l66    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

spiritual  forces  when  he  tries  to  get  along 
without  joining  the  church  ?  I  have  seen 
many  a  one  who  claimed  he  could  live  a 
Christian  life  outside  the  church  make  ship- 
wreck of  faith  and  go  down  before  the  world's 
pelting  storm.  You  may  have  tried  to  kindle 
a  fire  with  one  stick  of  wood,  but  you  found 
it  very  difficult ;  with  half  a  dozen  sticks  it 
was  easy.  The  man  who  tries  to  keep  the 
fire  of  devotion  burning  in  his  heart  outside 
of  the  church,  and  alone,  has  a  hard  time. 

People  are  sometimes  kept  out  of  the 
church  because  of  a  wrong  conception  of 
what  the  church  is.  The  church  is  not  a 
place  for  perfect  people  simply.  If  it  were 
you  and  I  would  have  no  place  there.  The 
church  is  for  people  who  need  help.  We  do 
not  join  the  church  because  we  are  good,  but 
because  we  iva^it  to  be  good,  because  we 
have  an  aspiration.  The  church  is  a  school 
for  the  development  of  character  and  gradua- 
tion day  seems  far  away.  As  one  says : 
"  The  church  receives  its  members  not  be- 
cause they  have  attained  so  much,  but  be- 
cause there  is  so  much  that  they  need  to 
attain."  Further  he  says :  "  For  admission 
to  be  declined  on  the  ground  that  one  is  '  not 
good  enough '  is  to  miss  the  fundamental 
purpose  of  the  entire  institution  ;  and  for  a 


Decision  Day  in  the  Sunday-School     167 

modest  person  to  conceive  that  becoming 
part  of  a  church  organization  is  advertising 
to  the  pubhc  that  he  has  made  great  advance 
in  the  holy  hfe,  is  the  same  as  it  would  be 
for  a  little  four-year-old  to  understand  that 
admission  into  the  A.  B.  C.  class  means  his 
present  attainment  of  a  liberal  education." 

The  scholar  should  be  taught  to  have  an 
appreciation  of  the  church.  Without  the 
church  there  would  be  no  Sunday-schools  in 
which  to  observe  Decision  Day.  There 
would  be  no  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  there 
would  be  no  administration  of  the  holy  sac- 
raments, there  would  be  no  missionary  move- 
ments to  disseminate  the  glad  tidings.  With- 
out the  church  there  would  have  been  no 
evangelistic  agency  to  touch  our  Western 
civilization,  and  we  would  now  be  worship- 
ping pagan  idols  instead  of  the  true  and  liv- 
ing God. 

The  church  is  the  only  organization  in  the 
world  that  exists  "solely  for  character."  The 
care  and  culture  of  character  is  her  work. 

Joining  the  church  is  not  religion.  Going 
to  church  is  not  religion.  Religion  deals 
with  the  relation  of  the  soul  to  God.  Dr. 
Hallack  tells  of  a  little  girl  who  was  looking 
in  her  mother's  trunk  one  day  and  found  her 
mother's  church  letter  which  had  failed  to 


i68    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

reach  the  pastor.  The  little  girl  rushed  to 
her  mother  shouting  :  "Oh,  mama,  I've  found 
your  religion  in  your  trunk."  That  is  not 
the  brand  for  which  we  plead.  The  right 
kind  of  religion  cannot  be  put  into  a  letter 
and  boxed  up  in  a  trunk. 

The  church  is  not  an  end  but  a  means. 
The  Bible  is  not  an  end  but  a  means.  We 
love  the  Bible  because  it  reveals  God  to  us. 
We  love  the  church  because  she  helps  to 
keep  us  close  to  the  heart  of  God.  The 
function  of  the  church  is  to  help  get  us  into 
right  relation  with  God  and  man,  and  to 
keep  us  in  such  relation. 

The  church  should  be  dear  to  us.  The 
ancient  Israelites  had  the  sacred  Ark  which 
spoke  to  them  of  God.  The  church  is  the 
Ark  of  God  to-day.  The  Ark  was  dear  to 
the  Israelites.  Its  very  presence  inspired 
their  hearts.  When  the  Ark  was  brought 
from  Shiloh  into  the  Hebrew  camp  the  Is- 
raelites "  shouted  with  a  great  shout  so  that 
the  earth  rang  again."  Its  presence  thrilled 
the  people  of  God  with  hope,  and  smote  their 
foes  with  despair.  The  Philistines  said : 
'*  God  is  come  into  the  camp  of  the  He- 
brews." One  day  aged  Eli  sat  by  the  gate 
waiting  for  tidings  from  the  battle.  His  sons, 
Hophni  and  Phinehas,  were  fighting  in  the 


Decision  Day  in  the  Sunday-School     169 

ranks.  There  was  great  slaughter  that  day, 
and  a  man  of  Benjamin  ran  from  the  army 
and  came  to  Shiloh  where  Eli  waited.  The 
messenger  said  :  "  Israel  is  fled  from  before 
the  Philistines."  This  was  sad  news,  but  not 
insurmountable.  Then  the  man  said  :  "  Thy 
sons,  Hophni  and  Phinehas,  are  dead."  This 
was  terrific,  but  not  unbearable.  Then  the 
messenger  said  :  "  The  Ark  of  God  is  taken." 
At  that  announcement  Eli  fell  dead.  The 
Ark  was  unspeakably  precious.  We  should 
hesirtily  sing : 

"  I  love  Thy  kingdom.  Lord, 
The  house  of  Thine  abode, 
The  Church  our  blest  Redeemer  saved 
With  His  own  precious  blood. 

"  I  love  Thy  Church,  O  God  ! 
Her  walls  before  Thee  stand. 
Dear  as  the  apple  of  Thine  eye, 
And  graven  on  Thine  hand." 

So  after  Decision  Day  let  pastor  and 
teacher  magnify  the  church,  and  so  present 
the  real  purpose  of  the  church  that  those  who 
have  made  decision  for  Christ  will  see  the 
claim  of  the  church  upon  them,  and  be  led  to 
unite  with  it.  To  stop  short  of  this  goal  is  to 
omit  a  very  important  matter  in  connection 
with  Sunday-school  Decision  Day. 


170    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

Livingstone  said  one  time:  "The  end  of 
the  exploration  is  the  beginning  of  the  enter- 
prise." And  we  must  remember  that  the 
end  of  the  service  on  Decision  Day  is  but  the 
beginning  of  the  task  we  have  undertaken. 


VI 

HOW  TO   PREPARE  A  SUNDAY- 
SCHOOL  LESSON 


"  Other  things  being  equal,  the  difference  between  success 
and  failure  in  the  work  of  a  Sunday-school  teacher  is  usually  a. 
matter  of  preparation.  Ample,  intelligent,  and  painstaking 
preparation  will  often  change  what  would  otherwise  be  drudg- 
ery into  a  satisfying  pleasure." — Marion  Lawrance. 

"  The  teacher  who  ceases  to  grow  ceases  to  teach.  That  is 
why  a  Sunday-school  lesson  cannot  be  crammed.  That  is  why 
preparation  for  it  must  extend  all  through  the  week.  Growth 
cannot  be  ordered  offhand.  It  comes  from  Father  Time's 
shop,  and  he  is  a  deliberate  workman.  You  will  lose  your  hold 
on  your  class  if  each  Sunday  hour  does  not  begin  with  you  a 
little  above  them,  and  end  with  them  at  your  level.  This  ad- 
vance cannot  be  won  Saturday  night,  or  during  the  space  be- 
tween the  first  and  second  bells  for  Sunday-school.  Such  a 
spasmodic  leap  ahead  will  leave  you  too  much  out  of  breath 
even  to  tell  them  to  come  on." — Amos  R.  Wells. 

•'  There  is  nothing  dramatic  about  the  Sunday-school,  but  o! 
all  service  it  is  the  most  real,  essential  and  fruitful.  If  the 
Church  would  once  awake  to  this,  the  result  would  astonish  it 
and  the  world.  This  would  mean  the  most  real  of  revivals. 
No  spasmodic  revival  could  compare  with  it.  It  is  work  that 
begins  at  the  right  end ;  it  is  positive,  constructive,  abiding, 
fruitful  beyond  compare." —  W,  L.  Watkinson. 


VI 


How  to  Prepare  a  Sunday-School  Lesson 

IT  is  easier  to  give  advice  than  to  follow 
it.  There  can  be  no  inflexible  method 
outlined  for  the  study  of  the  Sunday- 
school  lesson.  Different  persons  can  suc- 
cessfully adopt  different  methods.  Different 
lessons  may  require  different  modes  of  prep- 
aration. 

There  are  sovae  preliftzinaries  that  we  may 
well  consider  before  we  come  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  lesson  itself. 

The  teacher  should  know  his  class  before 
he  can  decide  best  how  to  prepare  to  teach 
his  class.  He  should  know  their  spiritual 
and  mental  condition,  their  social  surround- 
ings, and  their  home  influences.  He  must 
know  their  attainments  and  their  needs  before 
he  can  bring  the  right  supply.  He  must 
know  the  scholar's  lack,  his  ignorance,  then 
he  may  be  able  to  offer  the  fitting  knowledge. 
It  has  been  said  that  "  we  cannot  make  an- 
other comprehend  our  knowledge  until  we 
first  comprehend  his  ignorance." 

This  knowledge  of  his  class  will  help  the 
173 


174     1  he  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

teacher  to  settle  upon  an  aim  in  his  teach- 
ing. If  all  in  his  class  are  Christians  he  will 
not  have  just  the  same  end  in  view  as  he 
would  if  none  were  Christians.  In  one  case 
he  will  seek  to  confirm,  to  edify,  to  expand, 
and  to  intensify ;  in  the  other  he  will  strive 
more  to  bring  to  a  decision  for  Christ. 

Another  preliminary  we  may  consider  is 
our  Lesson  Helps.  Every  teacher  needs  a 
Reference  Bible,  a  concordance,  a  Bible  dic- 
tionary, and  Bible  maps.  These  are  essen- 
tial. A  text-book  that  gives  Bible  references 
by  subjects  is  very  valuable.  After  these 
helps  you  may  add  Sunday-school  journals, 
commentaries,  etc.,  as  many  as  you  have  time 
and  money  for. 

We  now  come  to  the  study  of  the  lesson. 

Begin  early.  Preparation  on  Saturday 
night  or  Sunday  morning  is  not  adequate. 
Give  the  lesson  a  chance  to  get  into  the  fibre 
of  your  being.  Let  its  truths  burn  in  your 
heart.  Pray  during  the  week  about  the  les- 
son. Seek  light  and  help  from  God.  If  you 
begin  early  in  your  preparation  you  may 
think  of  the  lesson  on  the  street,  in  the  store, 
in  the  shop,  and  wherever  you  may  be  at 
work. 

Another  advantage  of  early  preparation  is 
that   illustrations  will  occur  to  you   coming 


How  to  Prepare  a  Lesson  1 7  5 

out  of  your  own  life,  and  one  illustration  of 
your  own  is  apt  to  be  worth  many  borrowed 
ones.  It  might  not  be  so  good  for  the  printed 
page,  but  the  fact  that  it  is  your  own  will 
lead  you  to  present  it  with  more  spirit  and 
power. 

Read  the  intervening  verses  and  chapters 
as  well  as  the  lesson.  This  will  clear  up 
many  things  that  might  otherwise  seem  diffi- 
cult. Our  International  Lessons,  which  we 
do  not  criticize,  are,  nevertheless,  a  "  hop, 
skip,  and  jump  "  method  of  going  through 
the  Bible.  It  cannot  be  otherwise.  The 
teacher  is  the  person  to  counteract  the  weak- 
ness of  this  plan.  The  teacher  must  supply 
the  connecting  links. 

Study  the  lesson  at  first  without  the  lesson 
Helps.  Read  it  in  the  Accepted  and  Revised 
Versions.  Read  parallel  passages  and  side 
references.  Scripture  often  illuminates  Scrip- 
ture. What  seems  obscure  in  one  place  will 
be  made  clear  by  a  kindred  passage. 

Be  independent  of  Lesson  Helps  as  long  as 
you  can.  This  will  develop  power.  This 
will  require  great  determination.  When  you 
find  a  difficulty  do  not  do  the  easiest  thing, 
which  is  to  turn  and  see  what  some  one  else 
says  about  it.  Do  the  best  thing,  study  it, 
find  out  what  you  think  about  it.     Let  com- 


176    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

mentaries,  dictionaries,  and  journals  alone 
until  you  have  done  your  best.  The  great 
quantity  of  Lesson  Helps  used  at  the  wrong 
time  is  apt  to  produce  a  company  of  super- 
ficial Bible  students.  Here  is  a  really  serious 
danger. 

Having  studied  the  lesson  carefully  you 
may  then  profitably  see  what  others  have  to 
say  about  it.  You  may  then  use  all  the 
helps  you  can  find.  But  if  you  have  seen  a 
truth  in  the  lesson  and  it  has  made  a  pro- 
found impression  upon  you,  do  not  leave  that 
truth  to  take  up  thoughts  that  others  have 
suggested.  The  truth  that  arrests  your  atten- 
tion and  grips  you  is  the  one  for  you  to  teach, 
that  is  the  truth  that  you  can  make  live  and 
glow  before  your  class  in  such  a  way  as  to 
impress  them. 

One  plan  for  the  study  of  a  lesson  that  has 
had  much  favour  is  to  ask  the  questions  sug- 
gested by  "The  Five  W's " :  "When? 
Where?  Whom?  What?  Why?"  These 
five  questions  answered  concerning  any 
lesson  will  give  the  time  of  the  lesson,  the 
geography  of  the  lesson,  the  persons  of  the 
lesson,  the  incidents  of  the  lesson,  and  the 
application  of  the  lesson. 

But  beyond  all  helps  and  all  methods  is 
the  personality  of  the  teacher.     And  it  has 


How  to  Prepare  a  Lesson  177 

been  wisely  said  that  those  Lesson  Helps  are 
the  best  which  set  you  thinking",  not  those 
which  save  you  thinking.  Study  is  a  neces- 
sity to  the  good  teacher.  It  is  not  easy  to 
teach  a  Sunday-school  lesson.  No  teacher 
can  lead  his  class  up  the  clear  heights  of  the 
mountain  of  truth  without  study. 

Ce7itre  upon  a  feiv  thoitghts  rather  than  try 
to  discuss  many  thoughts.  Find  the  great 
central  truth  of  the  lesson  and  seek  to  make 
everything  illustrate,  impress,  and  emphasize 
that  truth.  The  "  golden  text "  generally 
contains  that  truth.  But  as  indicated  above, 
if  some  other  truth  has  gripped  you  follow 
where  your  interest  lies. 

Do  not  spend  too  much  time  on  the 
historical  phase  of  the  lesson.  The  time  and 
place  of  the  lesson  may  well  receive  atten- 
tion, for  this  is  necessary  for  intelligent 
study.  But  let  there  be  suitable  proportion 
in  the  lesson  period.  If  the  lesson  is  about 
Daniel  in  the  lion's  den  do  not  plan  to  spend 
half  the  time  talking  about  the  different 
kinds  of  lions.  A  teacher  said  to  her  boys 
one  day :  "  Did  you  ever  hear  the  story  of 
•  Jack,  the  Giant-killer '  ?  "  "  No  !  "  was  the 
response.  "  Well,"  said  the  teacher,  "  I  will 
tell  you  that  story."  Most  of  the  lesson 
period  was  consumed  by  the  recital  of  that 


1 78    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

tale.  Perhaps  the  subject  of  the  Sunday- 
school  lesson  was :  "  David  and  Goliath." 
David  was  a  giant-killer  and  brief  reference 
to  the  above  story  might  be  fitting,  but  to 
allow  it  to  usurp  the  whole  lesson  period 
showed  lack  of  sense  of  proportion. 

To  teach  a  Sunday-school  lesson  is  not  to 
teach  poetry,  nor  to  tell  pretty  stories,  nor  to 
present  beautiful  similes.  All  these  may  be 
appropriately  used  to  illustrate  and  impress 
the  great  truths  of  the  lesson.  But  here  are 
immortal  souls  before  the  teacher.  They 
live  in  a  world  of  temptation  and  sin  one 
hundred  and  sixty-seven  hours  every  week. 
They  are  in  the  Sunday-school  one  hour 
per  week.  The  teacher  has  thirty  minutes  out 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  hours  to  im- 
press them  with  divine  truth.  Here  are 
hearts  that  need  help,  encouragement,  en- 
lightenment, and  guidance.  They  need  the 
truth  concerning  the  deepest  questions  and 
the  most  vital  issues  of  life.  The  teacher 
must  not  plan  to  feed  them  chaflf,  they  need 
the  bread  of  life.  He  must  not  give  them 
simply  poetry,  sentiment,  similes,  and  flowers. 
He  must  give  them  food  suitable  unto  their 
need.  The  teacher  must  select  some  vital, 
inspiring,  helpful  truth  and  seek  by  every 
means  within  his  command  to  impress  that 


^^How  to  Prepare  a  Lesson  179 

truth  upon  them.  He  must  illustrate  it, 
reillustrate  it,  repeat  it,  reiterate  it,  emphasize 
it  until  it  is  burned  into  the  souls  of  the  mem- 
bers of  his  class.  He  must  not  fail  to  make 
them  feel  it.  He  must  feel  it  himself,  and 
then  they  will  be  apt  to  feel  it  also. 

In  his  approach  to  the  scholar  the  teacher 
must  find  the  "line  of  least  resistance."  He 
must  find  the  plane  on  which  his  scholar 
lives.  Dr.  H.  Clay  Trumbull  ^  gives  a  fine 
illustration  of  this.  A  teacher  in  a  city  mis- 
sion school  asked  question  after  question  of 
a  new  little  scholar  without  getting  a  satis- 
factory answer.  The  boy  did  not  know  who 
made  him,  who  the  first  man  was,  who  built 
the  ark,  or  who  was  cast  into  the  lion's  den. 
In  despair  the  teacher  at  last  said  :  "  Why, 
my  boy,  what  do  you  know  ?  "  The  boy's 
face  brightened  and  he  answered  cheerily  : 
"  I  know  the  '  head  '  from  the  *  tail '  of  a 
cent."  The  teacher  for  the  first  time  knew 
that  boy's  level.  That  boy  had  seen  the 
older  boys  pitch  pennies,  and  he  had  learned 
the  difference  between  the  "  head  "  and  the 
"  tail  "  of  a  cent.  The  penny  could  be  used 
as  a  starting  point  with  that  scholar.  From 
there  the  teacher  could  go  on  to  tell  what 
Jesus  said  about  the  penny. 

1"  Teaching  and  Teachers,"  p.  170. 


l8o    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

Du  Bois  ^  relates  how  the  orientalist, 
Canon  Tristram,  when  in  Ceylon  addressed 
an  audience  of  native  Christians  through  an 
interpreter.  He  chose  for  his  subject :  "The 
Good  Shepherd."  He  says:  "My  inter- 
preter told  me  afterwards  that  not  one  of  my 
hearers  had  ever  seen  a  sheep,  or  knew  what 
it  was.  '  How  then  did  you  explain  what  I 
said  ? '  I  asked.  '  Oh/  he  replied,  '  I  turned 
it  into  a  buffalo  that  had  lost  its  calf  and 
went  into  the  jungle  to  find  it.' "  That  in- 
terpreter had  the  instinct  of  a  teacher. 

The  teacher  must  study  the  art  of  asking 
questions.  It  is  easy  to  ask  questions  if  you 
do  not  care  how  you  ask  them.  It  is  difficult 
to  ask  questions  in  such  a  way  as  to  draw 
out  the  thoughts  of  the  scholars. 

Some  of  the  Lesson  Helps  years  ago  used 
to  print  the  questions  with  the  answers 
directly  beneath.  Some  scholars  would  learn 
these  answers  by  rote.  No  matter  what  the 
first  question  might  be  answer  number  one 
would  come.  A  teacher  tells  of  his  experi- 
ence with  one  of  the  lessons.  The  topic  for 
the  day  was  "  The  Walk  to  Emmaus."  The 
first  question  was,  "  Where  is  Emmaus  ? " 
The  teacher  recalled  that  the  scholar  to  his 
right  was  a  boy  who  had  been  absent  the 

I  "  Point  of  Contact,"  p.  91. 


How  to  Prepare  a  Lesson  181 

previous  Sunday.  The  teacher  asked : 
"Where  were  you  last  Sunday,  Joseph?" 
Quick  as  a  flash  came  back  the  answer : 
"  Seven  and  a  half  miles  northwest  of  Jeru- 
salem." He  had  answered  the  first  printed 
question  :  "  Where  is  Emmaus  ? "  The 
teacher  said  in  mortified  response :  "  Well, 
you  are  certainly  excusable  for  not  being 
here." 

That  to  ask  questions  and  receive  answers 
is  a  good  method  of  teaching  grows  out  of 
the  very  nature  of  the  mind.  Bushnell  used 
to  say :  "  We  never  know  a  thing  until  we 
have  said  it."  Professor  Hart  says  :  "  The 
knowledge  is  really  not  theirs  (the  pupils) 
until  they  have  reproduced  it  and  given  it 
expression.  They  do  not  grasp  it  with  a 
clear  and  lasting  apprehension  until  they 
have  expressed  it  in  language.  This  is  one 
of  the  laws  of  mental  action.  We  fix  a  thing 
in  our  minds  by  communicating  it  to  another  ; 
we  make  it  plain  to  ourselves  by  the  very 
effort  to  give  it  explanation.  Or,  to  state 
the  matter  still  more  paradoxically,  we  learn 
a  thing  by  telling  it  to  somebody ;  we  keep 
it  by  giving  it  away." 

Take  only  the  Bible  to  the  class.  Do  this 
for  the  sake  of  your  class  and  for  your  own 
sake.     It  impresses  the  class  with  the  thought 


l82    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

that  you  have  mastered  your  lesson,  that 
you  are  not  going  to  give  them  what  others 
think  about  the  lesson,  but  what  you  feel  is 
the  real  message  of  the  lesson.  It  makes 
you  prepare  so  that  you  are  independent ; 
the  lesson  has  become  a  part  of  you.  It 
emphasizes  the  fact  that  the  Bible  is  the  one 
great  Book  which  is  studied  from  week  to 
week. 

Think  often  of  the  importance  of  your 
work.  This  reflection  is  an  important  part 
of  your  preparation.  Abbott  says :  "If  a 
man  builds  nature  straightway  sets  to  work 
^^.'"'r  to  undo  his  building.  Rust  eats  into  the 
iron  and  decay  into  the  wood,  and  little  by 
little  time  ravages  and  destroys.  But  if  man 
plants  nature  proceeds  to  complete  his  un- 
finished work." 

The  teacher  is  a  sower.  The  seed  he  sows 
is  the  Word  of  God.  He  plants  truth  in 
human  hearts.  Its  garnering  shall  be  an 
eternal  harvest.  The  teacher  seeks  to  save 
hearts  from  the  misery  and  thralldom  of  sin, 
and  to  bind  them  in  an  everlasting  covenant 
to  Christ  our  King.  This  is  work  worthy  of 
an  archangel's  endeavour. 

When  Dr.  Kane  had  passed  through  six 
months  of  arctic  night  he  said  that  to  be  in 
the  sunlight  was  like  bathing  in  perfumed 


How  to  Prepare  a  Lesson  183 

waters.  The  Sunday-school  teacher  is  to 
keep  young  hearts  from  going  into  the  arctic 
midnight  of  sin,  and  to  lead  them  forth  into 
the  summer  land  of  faith,  and  hope,  and  trust, 
and  noble  living. 

When  the  simoom  is  sweeping  o'er  the 
desert  with  its  poisonous  breath  as  if  from  a 
fiery  furnace  the  Arabs  fall  prostrate  on  the 
sand  and  hide  from  its  withering  breath.  It 
is  the  Sunday-school  teacher's  holy  task  to 
keep  young  feet  from  the  simoom  of  sin  and 
from  the  sirocco  of  sinful  pestilence  and 
death.  And  if  their  scholars  are  already  in 
the  simoom  of  sin  to  lead  them  to  the  feet 
of  Him  who  alone  can  save  them  from  its 
blighting  breath. 

It  is  sad  to  see  little  birds  shivering  in  the 
cold  nest  and  no  mother  to  sing  her  song  to 
the  orphan  brood,  but  the  Sunday-school 
teacher  often  brings  the  sweet  lessons  of 
comfort  and  hope  to  orphan  children,  and 
leads  many  to  One  who  sticketh  closer  than  a 
brother. 

Appreciate  your  work  !  The  factors  that 
enter  into  your  task  are  God,  and  the  Bible, 
and  immortal  spirits,  and  destiny,  and  your- 
self. Be  patient.  Eternity  will  reveal  the 
fidelity  of  your  sowing,  and  if  you  go  forth 
even   weeping   now,    but    bearing    precious 


184    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

seed,  you  shall  yet  come  with  rejoicing  bring- 
ing your  sheaves  with  you. 

Live  the  gospel  you  teach.  A  holy  life 
is  an  essential  preparation  for  your  sacred 
work.  Your  life  as  an  incarnation  of  the 
truth  you  teach  is  a  preparation  no  teacher  y 
can  afford  to  neglect.  The  teacher's  spirit, 
life,  character  are  an  asset  beyond  all  that 
words  can  express.  An  incarnated  gospel 
speaks  more  potently  than  a  written  gospel. 

"  And  so  the  Word  had  breath,  and  wrought 
With  human  hands  the  creed  of  creeds 
In  loveHness  of  perfect  deeds, 
More  strong  than  all  poetic  thought." 

We  need  living  gospels  as  well  as  written 
gospels.  When  a  true  teacher  stands  before 
his  class  he  presents  both. 


VII 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL  INSTALLATION 
SERVICE 


"  The  church  should  extend  its  hand  of  welcome  to  ::he  man 
who  consecrates  his  gifts  to  the  work  of  teaching  ic  the  Sab- 
bath-school. A  word  of  counsel  and  encouragement  at  that 
important  stage  may  have  a  most  salutary  effect  upon  his  future 
career.  The  public  recognition  would  favourably  impress  the 
church  itself,  and  give  the  teacher  increased  power  over  his 
scholars." — John  H.  Vincent. 

"  The  formal  installation  of  the  officers  and  teachers  elect  of 
the  Sunday-school  should  generally  obtain.  It  is  more  than  a 
matter  of  form.  Impressively  conducted,  it  becomes  one  of  the 
most  profitable  services  of  the  Sunday-school  year." 

—JJ.  M.  Hamill. 

"  The  benefits  of  a  service  for  the  installation  of  officers  and 
teachers  must  be  apparent  to  all.  It  enables  the  pastor  in  a 
vivid  manner  to  call  the  attention  of  the  whole  church  to  the 
importance  of  the  Sunday-school  work,  and  to  impress  upon  the 
officers  and  teachers  their  responsibility  in  the  positions  they 
hold.  Officers  thus  inducted  into  their  office  are  apt  to  attach 
more  importance  to  their  work  than  they  otherwise  would." 

— Marion  Lawrance. 


VII 

Sunday-School  Installation  Service 

THE  Sunday-school  officers  and  teach- 
ers are  the  noblest  volunteer  army 
in  the  world.  To  have  a  public 
installation  service  for  these  devoted  workers 
is  bestowing  honour  where  honour  is  due. 
It  impresses  the  officers  and  teachers  with 
the  thought  of  responsibility  and  obligation. 
It  gives  dignity  and  significance  to  the  work 
done  by  the  Sunday-school.  It  puts  needed 
emphasis  upon  the  teaching  function  of  the 
church.  An  entire  service  may  well  be  given 
to  it.  The  whole  Sunday-school  should  be 
invited  to  be  present.  The  pastor  should 
preside,  and  he,  or  some  invited  minister, 
should  preach  an  appropriate  sermon  upon  a 
theme  vital  to  the  highest  interests  of  the 
Sunday-school.  We  give  below  a  program 
for  such  an  occasion. 

Order  of  Iitstallation  Service 
I.     Organ  voluntary,  while  the  ushers  con- 
duct the  officers  and  teachers  to  seats  reserved 
for  them. 

This  chapter  is  used  with  the  permission  of  the  Board 
of  Sunday  Schools  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 


l88    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

2.  Hymn : 

Lamp  of  our  feet,  whereby  we  trace 

Our  path  when  wont  to  stray  ; 
Stream  from  the  fount  of  heavenly  grace, 

Brook  by  the  traveller's  way. 

Bread  of  our  souls,  whereon  we  feed, 

True  manna  from  on  high  ; 
Our  guide  and  chart,  wherein  we  read 

Of  realms  beyond  the  sky. 

Word  of  the  everlasting  God, 

Will  of  His  glorious  Son  ; 
Without  thee  how  could  earth  be  trod, 

Or  heaven  itself  be  won  ? 

Lord,  grant  us  all  aright  to  learn 

The  wisdom  it  imparts  ; 
And  to  its  heavenly  teaching  turn, 

With  simple,  childlike  hearts.     Amen. 

3.  Collect :  O  Lord,  the  Author  of  spir- 
itual life,  who  hast  given  unto  us  the  good 
seed  of  Thy  Word  ;  grant  that  we  may  re- 
ceive it  into  honest  hearts ;  and  so  gnard  it 
by  Thy  grace  from  the  wiles  of  Satan  and 
the  cares  of  this  life,  that  the  faith  and  hope 
and  love  which  Thou  hast  begotten  may  be 
in  us  the  beginning  of  life  eternal,  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     Amen. 

4.  Prayer. 

5.  Anthem. 

6.  Responsive  Scripture  lesson  : 
Minister — And    all     the   people   gathered 


Sunday-School  Installation  Service     189 

themselves  together  as  one  man  into  the 
street  that  was  before  the  water  gate,  and 
they  spake  unto  Ezra  the  scribe  to  bring  the 
book  of  the  law  of  Moses,  which  the  Lord 
had  commanded  to  Israel. — Neh.  viii.  i. 

Congregation — And  Ezra  the  priest 
brought  the  law  before  the  congregation 
both  of  men  and  women,  and  all  that  could 
hear  with  understanding,  upon  the  first  day 
of  the  seventh  month. — Neh.  i.  2. 

Minister — And  he  read  therein  before  the 
street  that  was  before  the  water  gate  from 
the  morning  until  midday,  before  the  men 
and  the  women,  and  those  that  could  under- 
stand and  the  ears  of  all  the  people  were  at- 
tentive unto  the  book  of  the  law. — Neh.  i.  j. 

Congregation — And  Ezra  the  scribe  stood 
upon  a  pulpit  of  wood,  and  he  opened  the 
book  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people,  and  when 
he  opened  it  all  the  people  stood  up. — Neh. 
i.  4, 5. 

Minister — And  Ezra  blessed  the  Lord,  the 
great  God.  And  all  the  people  answered, 
Amen,  Amen,  with  lifting  up  their  hands ; 
and  they  bowed  their  heads,  and  worshipped 
the  Lord  with  their  faces  to  the  ground. — 
Neh.  i.  6. 

Congregation — And  they  caused  the  people 
to  understand  the  law  ;  and  the  people  stood 
in  their  place.  So  they  read  in  the  book  in 
the  law  of  God  distinctly,  and  gave  the  sense, 
and  caused  them  to  understand  the  reading. 
— Neh.  i.  7,  8. 


190    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

Minister — When  all  Israel  is  come  to  ap- 
pear before  the  Lord  thy  God  in  the  place 
which  He  shall  choose,  thou  shalt  read  this 
law  before  all  Israel  in  their  hearing. — Deut. 
xxxi.  II. 

Congregation — Gather  the  people  together, 
men  and  women,  and  children,  and  the 
stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates,  that  they 
may  hear,  and  that  they  may  learn,  and  fear 
the  Lord  your  God,  and  observe  to  do  all  the 
words  of  this  law. — Deut.  xxxi.  12. 

Minister — And  all  thy  children  shall  be 
taught  of  the  Lord ;  and  great  shall  be  the 
peace  of  thy  children. — Isa.  liv.  ij. 

Congregation — Open  Thou  mine  eyes  that 
I  may  behold  wondrous  things  out  of  Thy 
law. — Ps.  cxix.  18. 

Minister — Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he 
should  go ;  and  when  he  is  old,  he  will  not 
depart  from  it.  Bring  the  children  up  in  the 
nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord. — Prov. 
xxii.  6 ;  Eph.  vi.  4. 

Congregation — Those  that  he  planted  in 
the  house  of  the  Lord  shall  flourish  in  the 
courts  of  our  God. — Ps.  xcii.  ij. 

Minister — And  God  hath  set  some  in  the 
church,  first  apostles,  secondarily  prophets, 
thirdly  teachers,  after  that  miracles,  then  gifts 
of  healings,  helps,  governments,  diversities 
of  tongues. — /  Cor.  xii.  28. 

Congregation — Having  then  gifts  differing 
according  to  the  grace  that  is  given  to  us, 
whether  prophecy,  let  us  prophesy  according 


Sunday-School  Installation  Service     191 

to  the  proportion  of  faith  ;  or  ministry,  let  us 
wait  on  our  ministering:  or  he  that  teacheth, 
on  teaching. — Rom.  xii.  6,  7. 

Minister — Feed  the  flock  of  God  which  is 
among  you,  taking  the  oversight  thereof,  not 
by  constraint,  but  willingly  ;  not  for  filthy 
lucre,  but  of  a  ready  mind. — /  Peter  v.  2. 

Congregation — That  our  sons  may  be  as 
plants  grown  up  in  their  youth  :  that  our 
daughters  may  be  as  corner-stones,  polished 
after  the  similitude  of  a  palace. — Ps.  cxliv.  12. 

Minister — I  beseech  you  that  ye  walk 
worthy  of  the  vocation  wherewith  ye  are 
called. — Eph.  iv.  i. 

Congregation — We  would  be  meet  for  the 
Master's  use,  and  prepared  unto  every  good 
work. — 2  Tim.  ii.  21. 

7.  Gloria  Patri. 

8.  Offering. 

9.  Hymn : 

Sow  in  the  morn  thy  seed ; 

At  eve  hold  not  thy  hand ; 
To  doubt  and  fear  give  thou  no  heed, 

Broadcast  it  o'er  the  land. 

Thou  knowest  not  which  shall  thrive, 

The  late  or  early  sown  ; 
Grace  keeps  the  precious  germ  alive, 

When  and  wherever  strown. 

And  duly  shall  appear, 

In  verdure,  beauty,  strength, 

The  tender  blade,  the  stalk,  the  ear. 
And  the  full  corn  at  length. 


192    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

Thou  canst  not  toil  in  vain  ; 

Cold,  heat,  and  moist,  and  dry, 
Shall  foster  and  mature  the  grain 

For  garners  in  the  sky.      Amen. 

10.  The  Installation  Sermon  and  Pra.yer. 

11.  Responsive  Service,  minister,  and  of- 
ficers and  teachers  standing : 

Minister — The  Church,  led  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  has  called  you  to  your  responsible  posi- 
tions. It  is  fitting  that  you  make  hearty  re- 
sponse to  the  following  questions  : 

Will  you  seek  to  adorn  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
in  your  daily  living  and  prayerfully  seek 
preparation  for  your  teaching  ? 

Officers  and  Teachers — We  will  study  to 
show  ourselves  approved  unto  God,  work- 
men that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly 
dividing  the  word  of  truth. — 2  Tim.  ii.  75. 

Minister — What  place  does  the  Word  of 
God  have  in  your  work? 

Officers  and  Teachers — Every  Scripture  in- 
spired of  God  is  also  profitable  for  teaching, 
for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction 
which  is  in  righteousness  ;  that  the  man  of 
God  may  be  complete,  furnished  completely 
unto  every  good  work. — 2  Tifn.  Hi.  j6,  ly. 

Minister — Whence  is  your  sufficiency  for 
your  sacred  task? 

Officers  and  Teachers — Our  sufficiency  is 
of  God.  For  unto  every  one  of  us  is  given 
grace  according  to  the  measure  of  the  gift  of 
Christ. — 2  Cor.  Hi.  5  ,•  Eph.  iv.  7. 


Sunday-School  Installation  Service     193 

Minister — When  tempted  to  become  weary- 
in  well-doing,  and  to  cease  your  work,  what 
may  well  be  your  answer  ? 

Officers  and  Teachers — I  am  doing  a  great 
work,  so  that  I  cannot  come  down :  why 
should  the  work  cease,  whilst  1  leave  it? — 
Neh.  vi.  J. 

Minister— Whsit  does  God  say  of  the  true 
and  faithful  teachers  ? 

Officers  and  Teachers — And  the  teachers 
shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firma- 
ment ;  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteous- 
ness as  the  stars  forever  and  ever.' — Dan. 
xii.  J. 

Covenant 

I  propose  to  be  exemplary  in  life,  diligent 
in  study,  devout  in  spirit,  regular  and  punc- 
tual in  attendance,  faithful  according  to  my 
ability,  so  that  I  may  win,  edify,  and  save 
my  scholars. 

12.  Consecration  Prayer. 

13.  Hymn: 

Lord,  speak  to  me,  that  I  may  speak 

In  living  echoes  of  Thy  tone; 
As  Thou  hast  sought,  so  let  me  seek 

Thy  erring  children  lost  and  lone. 

O  teach  me,  Lord,  that  I  may  teach 
The  precious  things  Thou  dost  impart ; 

And  wing  my  words,  that  they  may  reach 
The  hidden  depths  of  many  a  heart. 

1  Marginal  Reading. 


194    The  Work  of  the  Sunday-School 

O  fill  me  with  Thy  fullness,  Lord, 

Until  ray  very  heart  o'erflow 
In  kindling  thought  and  glowing  word, 

My  love  to  tell,  Thy  praise  to  show, 

O  use  me,  Lord,  use  even  me. 

Just  as  Thou  wilt,  and  when,  and  where, 
Until  Thy  blessed  face  I  see, 

Thy  rest.  Thy  joy,  Thy  glory  share.    Amen. 

14.     Apostolic  Benediction. 


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